Operation Dost: India sends more relief to quake-hit Turkey, Syria

India on Saturday sent additional consignments of life-saving medicines and relief material for earthquake victims of Turkey and Syria onboard a C-17 military transport aircraft

India on Saturday sent additional consignments of life-saving medicines and relief material for earthquake victims of Turkiye and Syria onboard a C-17 military transport aircraft.

It is the seventh flight carrying relief material under India's 'Operation Dost' which was launched to provide assistance to the two countries after they were hit by a devastating quake on Monday that has killed over 20,000 people.

"The 7th #OperationDost flight departs for Syria and Trkiye. Flight is carrying relief material, medical aid, emergency & critical care medicines, medical equipment & consumables," External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar tweeted.

In the last few days, India sent to Turkiye medicines, a mobile hospital and specialised search and rescue teams onboard five C-17 Globemaster military transport aircraft to support the country's rescue efforts.

India also sent relief material onboard a C-130J aircraft of the Indian Air Force to Syria.

Officials said the flight that left on Saturday evening is first headed to Syria's capital Damascus, and after offloading the relief material there, it will fly to Adana in Turkiye.

They said the flight is carrying over 35 tonnes of relief material, of which over 23 tonnes is for relief efforts in Syria, and around 12 tonnes for Turkiye.

The assistance being sent to Syria comprises relief material such as sleeping mats, generator sets, solar lamps, tarpaulin, blankets, emergency and critical care medicines, and disaster relief consumables, the officials said.

The material headed to Turkiye consists of supplies for the Indian Army's field hospital and National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) teams, medical equipment such as ECG, patient monitor, anaesthesia machine, syringe pumps and glucometer.

The consignment also comprises blankets and other relief materials, the officials said.

The Indian Army's field hospital in Turkiye has already provided medical treatment to a number of people injured in the earthquake.

India on Monday decided to immediately dispatch search and rescue teams of the NDRF, medical teams and relief material to Turkiye following Prime Minister Modi's instructions to offer all possible assistance to the country.