IRELAND IS to provide €300,000 emergency aid to the victims of Turkey’s 7.2-magnitude earthquake last weekend.
Over 460 people have died and hundreds of thousands of people have been left homeless because of the serious damage caused in the provinces of Van and Bitlis on Sunday. Around 500 aftershocks have struck the region.
The Department of Foreign Affairs said in a statement that the government will send 600 large tents and 3,000 blankets from Irish Aid’s stockpile in Dubai. The items are due to be airlifted by the UN to Turkey this week.
Minister of State for Trade and Development Jan O’Sullivan said dropping temperatures and the onset of winter mean that there “is a pressing need” for emergency shelter.
O’Sullivan said that the government has been working with Turkish authorities through the Irish embassy in Ankara to coordinate the response to the earthquake.
Despite some good news emerging from the search for survivors after a teenager was pulled alive from the rubble 61 hours later, hope of finding more survivors is fading.
The Turkish government said it would accept international aid, including from Israel with which relations have been strained since the deaths of nine Turkish citizens during the Gaza flotilla raid last year. Israel is sending temporary emergency housing to the quake-affected region.
- Additional reporting by the AP
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