KUALA LUMPUR: Foreign Minister Datuk Seri Dr Zambry Abdul Kadir has expressed his appreciation to Turkiye's Ambassador to Malaysia Emir Salim Yuksel for the assistance rendered in coordinating the deployment of Malaysia's third humanitarian assistance team on Friday, to the Adiyaman province in the south-eastern part of the country.
In a tweet on Friday (Feb 10), Zambry confirmed that the team comprising 38 Armed Forces personnel had left for Turkiye earlier in the morning using an A400 transport aircraft to provide humanitarian aid to earthquake victims.
"The team is expected to set up and operate a Type-3 field hospital upon arrival. The aircraft is also carrying 44 tonnes of medical equipment and supplies.
"Our prayers and thoughts are with the victims of the earthquake, their family members and rescuers in these difficult moments.
"Our Embassy in Ankara @MYEmbAnkara and Consulate General in Istanbul @MWIstanbul continue to monitor and obtain the latest updates from Turkish authorities," he said.
The Armed Forces headquarters, in a statement, earlier was reported as saying that the main aim of Malaysian Field Hospital's operation in Turkiye is to express the Malaysian government's wishes to provide humanitarian aid to victims affected by the disaster.
The operation involves 106 Armed Forces staff members led by operations commander Brig Gen Datuk Dr Amran Amir Hamzah and the team will be deployed to Turkiye in three phases starting Friday using an A400 aircraft as well as commercial aircraft, added the statement.
According to the latest official figures, more than 16,540 people have been killed and 66,130 others injured in 10 provinces of Turkiye so far following two strong quakes, with a magnitude of 7.7 and 7.6 respectively, that jolted the southern region of the country Monday (Feb 6).
The powerful quake also devastated neighbouring Syria with nearly 1,347 people killed and over 2,295 wounded. The effects of the earthquake were felt in Cyprus and Lebanon.
On Tuesday (Feb 7), Turkiye declared a three-month state of emergency in 10 provinces, namely Adana, Adıyaman, Diyarbakir, Gaziantep, Hatay, Kahramanmaras, Kilis, Malatya, Osmaniye and Sanliurfa, to ensure the search and rescue operations run smoothly. – Bernama
Alhamdulillah, hasil penyelarasan yang amat baik dengan Duta Besar Republik Turkiye ke Malaysia @emirsyuksel telah membolehkan kita menggerakkan pasukan bantuan kemanusiaan Malaysia ke-3,
— Zambry Abd Kadir (@ZambryOfficial) February 10, 2023
