New Delhi: Soon after a massive 7.8 magnitude earthquake hit Turkey earlier this month, India launched ‘Operation Dost’ aimed at assisting in the relief and rescue operations. Teams from the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) and Indian Army worked round the clock in the quake-hit nation.
Acknowledging New Delhi’s contribution to the relief operations, Turkey’s Ambassador to India Firat Sunel said that the valuable help is truly appreciated.
“Like the Government of India, the big-hearted Indian people have also joined hands to help those in need in the earthquake region. We truly appreciate all of you for your valuable help,” Mr Sunel said in a tweet.
He also shared a video showing the tonnes of material that had come in from India.
The death count from the catastrophic earthquake that hit Turkey and Syria on February 6 has climber to over 44,000. Rescue operations in most provinces have been called off with the likelihood of finding survivors two weeks on extremely remote.
The economic cost of the disaster expected to run into billions of dollars.
India was among the first responders to search and rescue efforts in Turkey and Syria. Along with specialised search and rescue teams, a Field Hospital was set up by the Indian Army in Hatay’s Iskenderun to provide medical assistance.
Last week, a picture of a Turkish woman kissing the face of an Indian Army woman soldier went going viral online. The post was shared by the official Twitter handle of the Additional Directorate General of Public Information (ADG PI) of the Indian Army. They wrote in the caption, “We care.”