Egypt sends aid ship to quake victims in Syria

ANKARA

An Egyptian ship carrying relief aid arrived at Latakia port in Syria on Monday for the victims of the Feb. 6 earthquake disaster that killed thousands.

A statement by the Egyptian Presidency said a ship from the Egyptian Navy loaded with hundreds of tons of relief aid arrived in Latakia for the quake victims in Syria.

The shipment was delivered “in solidarity with Syria and its brotherly people and in support of [Syria] in this painful humanitarian plight,” the statement said.

Syrian state news agency SANA said the Egyptian shipment included around 500 tons of aid.

The aid will be handed over to the Syrian Arab Red Crescent to be distributed to regions that were harmed by the earthquake, the broadcaster said.

Last week, Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah al-Sisi made a phone call with the head of the Syrian regime, Bashar al-Assad, during which he offered condolences over the earthquake victims.

Since the earthquakes, more than 16 Arab countries have announced the establishment of air bridges, to provide urgent relief to support Türkiye and Syria.

At least 41,020 people were killed in two powerful earthquakes that rocked southern Türkiye on Feb. 6, according to the latest official figures.

The 7.7- and 7.6-magnitude earthquakes, centered in the Kahramanmaras province, affected more than 13 million people across 11 provinces, including Adana, Adiyaman, Diyarbakir, Gaziantep, Hatay, Kilis, Malatya, Osmaniye, Elazig and Sanliurfa.

In Syria, at least 5,840 people have been killed in the deadly earthquakes.

*Writing by Mahmoud Barakat