Turkey sends 2 planes with quake aid to Pakistan

Turkey said it had sent two military planes to Pakistan carrying aid, doctors and rescue workers to help victims of a major earthquake that struck northern Pakistan and India on Saturday. The planes' cargo included 21 rescue workers, 30 medical personnel, two ambulances, one transport vehicle and a towing truck, the prime minister's office said in a statement. Turkey's Red Crescent has asked for three more planes to take aid to the quake victims, it said.

Turkey's military General Staff, government ministries, civil defence officials and Red Crescent are coordinating their relief effort with Pakistan's embassy in Ankara, the statement said. Well over 1,000 people were killed in northern Pakistan and India in the 7.6 magnitude quake, the region's strongest in living memory. The death toll is expected to climb further. Muslim Turkey, which is also very prone to earthquakes, has warm ties with Pakistan. President Pervez Musharraf spent part of his youth in Turkey and speaks some Turkish.


Source: Reuters via AlertNet