Bulgaria sending emergency team to Türkiye to help after devastating earthquakes
Bulgaria’s caretaker Defence Minister Dimitar Stoyanov said on February 6 that a logistical operation was underway to transport a Sofia municipality emergency team to Adana Airport in Türkiye following devastating earthquakes that hit Türkiye and Syria, leaving hundreds dead, thousands injured and buildings extensively damaged.
The team is to be flown on Spartan aircraft from Bulgaria’s capital city Sofia.
The Defence Ministry was ready to send a Military Medical Academy team to help, Stoyanov said.
According to the European Mediterranean Seismological Center, the magnitude of the strongest earthquake, at 3.17am Bulgarian time, was 7.8 on the Richter scale. Media reports described the quake as the severest in that region in a century.
The earthquake was felt in Türkiye’s capital Ankara, as well as in many other cities of the country. Apart from Turkey, tremors were felt in Lebanon, Syria and Cyprus, Bulgaria, Romania and even Albania.
On Twitter, Bulgaria’s Foreign Ministry offered condolences on the loss of life in Türkiye and Syria.
European Disaster Management Commissioner Janez Lenarčič said on Twitter that the European Commission had activated the EU Civil Protection Mechanism.
“The EU’s Emergency Response Coordination Centre is coordinating the deployment of rescue teams from Europe,” Lenarčič said.
“Teams from the Netherlands and Romania are already on their way,” he said.
Nato Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg expressed full solidarity with Türkiye in the aftermath of the quakes.
“Nato allies are mobilizing support now,” Stoltenberg said.
(Archive photo: Bulgarian Ministry of Defence)
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