Indian teams proactively assisting search and rescue operations, says Indian ambassador to Turkey

Pointing to the proactive role played by Indian relief and rescue teams, Indian ambassador to Turkey, DrVirander Paul while speaking to WION,said that Indian relief and rescue "teams on the ground are carrying out theirwork" and "focus has mainly been on assisting the Turkish authorities to carry out searchand rescue operations."

India has shown its unwavering support to the people of Turkeyin the wake of the recent earthquake that has affected over 13 million people in 10 provinces. Under operation Dost, 6 C17 aircraft loaded with humanitarian aid, medical equipment, and supplies have arrived in the country since the earthquake that struck the country last Monday.

The situation of Indians in Turkeyis also being closely monitored. So far, 130 Indians have been accounted for, but in someunfortunate news, one Indian has been confirmed dead. Speakingfrom Adana, the Turkeyambassador said, "We are in process of the earliest possible transportation of the mortal remains of the deceased to his family."

The Indian mission on the ground, led by DrVirander Paul, is in constant communication with Turkish interlocutors to ensure the seamless delivery of aid.

On being asked about his stance onOperation Dost, the ambassador said that thefocus has mainly been on assisting the Turkish authorities to carry out searchand rescue operations for which threeteams have been positioned in southernTurkey, in the Hatay province, and twoteams inGaziantep. In addition, the Indian army had set up a hospital at a place calledİskenderunin Hatay province. It is a 30-bed hospital, with 99 members on the team. It has anesthetists, orthopedic surgeons, general surgeons, and other specialists. The work of the hospital is progressing very well.

He added that the sixthC17s airplanes carrying humanitarian assistance from India landed in Turkey, at Adana airport earlier this morning. The chief coordinator in charge of humanitarian assistance at Adana was with himto receive the flight. This flight contains a variety of relief materials, medical equipment like ECG machines, patient monitors, and other things. The plane has also carried supplies for the teams we already have in position, both the medical team in Hatay province and also the search and rescue teams of the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF).

On the role played by the Indian mission on the ground, the ambassador said that a team of officials from Ankara and also the Indian consulate in Istanbul are assisting the humanitarian relief from India so that their work is conducted seamlessly. For this purpose, Indianofficials are in direct constant touch with Turkish interlocutors.

"All in all, there are about 3000 Indian nationals in Turkey,and a large bulk of these Indian nationals reside in Istanbul and adjacentprovinces. A couple are in Ankara, and the remaining are spread all across the country. In the earthquake-hit areas, we do not find the Indians, but we are still reaching out to Indian nationals, and we have information about 130 Indian nationals in this area, most of them confirmed to us that they are safe. There was information about one missing Indian national and it was on Saturday we got the sad news his mortal remains were located and identified we are in process of the earliest possible transportation of the mortal remains of the deceased to his family,"said Dr Virander Paul.

He added that over 13 million people in 10 provinces of Turkeyhave been impacted which gives an indication of the challenges that the authorities face. Despite the challenges, it givessatisfaction that our coordinators on the Turkish side have been activelyassisting us, as our teams on the ground are carrying out theirwork, from the field hospital inİskenderun in Hatay province or our team in search and rescueinGaziantep and Antakya.

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