The Turkish embassy Monday issued the following statement: "On February 6, 2023, at 04:17, an earthquake with a magnitude of 7.4 occurred in the Pazarcık district of Kahramanmaraş. The severe earthquake caused the collapse of a total of 1,710 buildings in Kahramanmaraş, as well as the 9 other nearby provinces, namely Adıyaman, Kilis, Şanlıurfa, Diyarbakır, Adana, Osmaniye, Gaziantep, Malatya and Hatay.
According to the latest statement of the Disaster and Emergency Management Presidency (AFAD), 42 aftershocks occurred after the main earthquake, the largest of which was 6.6 magnitude.
Within the scope of the Türkiye Disaster Response Plan, the level of the earthquake was declared as 4th level and international assistance was requested. Several international organisations and countries including Qatar, Azerbaijan, TRNC, NATO, European Union, USA, Germany, England, Italy, France, India, Israel, Ukraine, Greece, Russia and Egypt have issued condolence messages regarding the earthquake and offered assistance.
In this context, we deeply appreciate the position of Qatar in solidarity with the earthquake victims since the first hours of the disaster.
Furthermore, His Highness the Amir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani called President Erdoğan to convey message of condolences and solidarity of Qatar.
We appreciate the quick response of Qatar Lekhwiya, who is going to send a search & rescue team and medical unit of 120 personnel to Türkiye, together with rescue equipment and medical supplies.
As a result of the Embassy’s initiative, Qatar Airways has opened an additional flight today at 10pm from Doha to Adana for our citizens in Qatar whose relatives were affected by the earthquake.
An "air aid corridor" has been established by the Turkish Armed Forces to deliver search and rescue teams to the region.
Education has been suspended for 1-2 weeks in the cities affected by the disaster."
(The death toll from the earthquake, that rocked southeastern Turkey, rose to 1,651, said Turkish Health Minister Fahrettin Koca. The number of injuries also rose to 11,119 people while 3,471 buildings were destructed, he added.)
