Dispatched servicemen ready for the mission in Turkey. (Photo: VNA) Hanoi (VNA) - TheVietnamese Ministry of National Defence will send 76 servicemen to Turkey by February 12 night to assist the country in recovery efforts following the devastating earthquake.
At a conference in Hanoi on February 10, Maj. Gen. Pham Van Ty, Deputy Director of theDepartment of Search and Rescue and Deputy Chief of the Office of the NationalCommittee for Incident and Disaster Response, Search and Rescue, wasassigned to assume the role of Commander-in-Chief of the Vietnam People's Army (VPA) forces in humanitarian and relief operationsin Turkey.
Theministry also asked the General Department of Logistics to prepare 10 tonnes ofdried food for the Turkish people.
Chief of the VPA General Staff and Deputy Minister of National Defence Sen.Lieut. Gen. Nguyen Tan Cuong said as there is no direct flight servicebetween Vietnam and Turkey, units concerned are working with the TurkishEmbassy in Vietnam and the Vietnamese Embassy in Turkey to arrange a flightcarrying the Vietnamese servicemen to the country.
On the occasion, Cuongurged the dispatched servicemen to stay disciplined, actively overcomedifficulties and accomplish tasks assigned by the Party, State and army, to leave a good impression on the Turkish authorities and people aswell as international friends.
Thequake was the most devastating disaster to shake Turkey since the 1939 Erzincan earthquake. As of February 10, last week's earthquake claimed 21,000 lives, leaving thousands more injured, and destroyed thousands of houses. Localauthorities have declared a state of emergency that requires urgent search and rescue missions.
As one of the world's most active earthquake zones, Turkey experiencedseveral strong earthquakes in the past, including the one with a magnitude of7.4 in 1999 that was the most severe in decades, resulting in over 17,000fatalities. The most recent 7-magnitude earthquake occurred in October 2022 inAegean, causing 114 deaths and over 1,000 injured./.
