Australia to dispatch 72-member rescue team to Türkiye

ANKARA

Australia announced on Wednesday that it would immediately dispatch a 72-member search and rescue team to southern Türkiye in the aftermath of two deadly earthquakes that affected 10 provinces.

Foreign Minister Penny Wong said the 72-member team would help local authorities in their ongoing search and rescue operation.

The team includes urban search and rescue specialists who are highly trained to locate, provide medical assistance to, and remove victims who have become trapped or impacted by structural collapse, she told the Parliament.

On Tuesday, Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese while expressing his sympathies and condolences to the families and communities who have lost loved ones announced humanitarian assistance for the victims.

"These multiple earthquakes that have hit the region are having a devastating impact, and today I can announce that the Australian government will provide an initial A$10 million ($6.94 million) in humanitarian assistance to those affected through our Red Cross and Red Crescent partners and through humanitarian agencies," he said.

The death toll from Monday's devastating earthquakes in southern Türkiye rose to 5,894, Turkish Vice President Fuat Oktay said early Wednesday.

Speaking at a news conference, Oktay put the number of injured from the massive quakes centered in Kahramanmaras province at 34,810.

The quakes also affected neighboring Syria, where 1,622 people were killed and hundreds injured.

*Writing by Islamuddin Sajid