Việt Nam to send US$200,000 to Turkey and Syria as earthquake aid

Việt Nam will provide Turkey and Syria with US$100,000 each to support their recovery efforts following the devastating earthquakes on February 6, Prime Minister Phạm Minh Chính announced on February 14.

The leader revealed the donation in a letter sent to the Presidents of Turkey and Syria, in which he said Vietnamese ministries and agencies will be assigned to take more necessary support measures.

The Vietnamese Embassy in Turkey and the Vietnamese Embassy in Iran and Syria have kept a close watch on the situation, sent officials to the sites, supported the rescue teams, contributed one day’s salary, provided essential goods and assisted victims of the natural disasters.

Two delegations of 100 military personnel and police officers, along with equipment, were sent to Turkey to join search and rescue operations in the country on February 9 and 12.

On February 14, Vietnamese rescue workers located three points where victims were buried under debris due to the huge earthquakes in Hatay province, one of the localities hardest hit by the natural disaster in Turkey.

The Vietnamese coordinated with local rescue forces to take out one body from the ruins, and informed the other two locations to local search and rescue units before moving on to their assigned area in Haci Omet commune, Alpaget district, Hatay.

The team, along with 35 tonnes of cargo, departed for Turkey on February 12 to assist the country in recovery efforts following the earthquakes.

Maj. Gen. Phạm Văn Tỵ, deputy chief of the Office of the National Committee for Incident and Disaster Response, Search and Rescue and deputy director of the Department of Search and Rescue under the Việt Nam People’s Army (VPA), directed the team in the search efforts.

Since they were sent to Turkey four days ago, the rescue team of the Vietnamese Ministry of Public Security helped to rescue a 17-year-old victim and moved the bodies of nine others from the rubble.

Deputy Head of the Police Department of Fire Prevention, Fighting and Rescue Colonel Nguyễn Minh Khương, who leads the team, said they have closely coordinated with rescue forces from the US and Turkey and used different equipment in the work.

The 24-member team of the ministry has engaged in search and rescue efforts in the Turkish city of Adiyaman, which is among the localities bearing the brunt of the earthquake, after they arrived at Istanbul International Airport on February 10.

According to the Turkish Disaster and Emergency Management Authority, more than 6,400 buildings in the country collapsed after the two earthquakes and more than 430 aftershocks. Some 8,300 international personnel have joined search and rescue operations in the country.

Sympathy to earthquake-affected Vietnamese in Turkey

Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Phạm Quang Hiệu, who is also Chairman of the State Committee for Overseas Vietnamese Affairs (COVA), has extended sympathy to and shared earthquake-induced difficulties of the Vietnamese community in Turkey.

The official said no casualties among Vietnamese in Turkey have been reported so far, but the lives of some of them has been seriously affected.

Following the natural disaster, the Vietnamese Embassy in Turkey and the Vietnamese Embassy in Iran and Syria have updated the situation and coordinated with the provisional executive board of the Vietnamese Association in Turkey to prepare measures in support of overseas Vietnamese in the country.

Given the lingering impacts of the earthquake, the committee hopes that the community will continue staying united to overcome the difficulties and support residents in recovery efforts as possible.

Hiệu affirmed that the committee, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Vietnamese Embassy in Turkey always accompanies the community.

In case of emergency, citizens may contact the embassy by phone: +90 (312) 446 80491 or email: [email protected]; the citizen protection hotline of the Consular Department under the Ministry of Foreign Affairs: +84 981 84 84 84, email: [email protected]; and the committee: +84 24 38240 401, email: [email protected].