Iran dispatches 2nd aid cargo to Turkey

Iran has dispatched the second batch of easter humanitarian aid tosouthn Turkey, where a 7.2-magnitude quake has leveled buildings and killed at least 200 people.
The consignment, comprising blanket, bottles of mineral water, bread, fuel, mats, medicine and tents, was sent to Turkey on Monday from the northwestern Iranian city of Khoy in West Azarbaijan Province, IRNA reported.

Iran’s first humanitarian aid cargo for quake-stricken eastern Turkish city of Van left from Khoy city late on Sunday.

Meanwhile, more than 10 people injured in Sunday’s earthquake in Turkey were transferred to Iran from the eastern Turkish city of Van through the Razi border crossing late on Sunday, and were hospitalized in Khoy.

West Azarbaijan Governor General Vahid Jalalzadeh has announced that the Iranian province’s hospitals are prepared to accommodate injured Turkish citizens.

The devastating quake killed at least 200 people, while experts from Turkey’s main seismography center estimate that the death toll could top 1,000.

The Kandilli seismographic observatory made the estimate based on the strength of the quake and the architecture of structures in the area.

Turkish Prime Minister Erdogan noted, “Turkey will ask for help from these countries if necessary. Teams from just Azerbaijan, Iran, and Bulgaria are working in the area right now.”

Earlier in the day, Iranian Red Crescent Society Director Mahmoud Mozaffar said the organization was ready to send assistance to the earthquake-stricken people of Turkey, adding, “We still do not have a report on the damage inflicted on Iranians living in border areas, but the Red Crescent is ready to send any humanitarian aid that Turkey requests.”

The epicenter of the earthquake was in the village of Tabanli in Van province.

The earthquake also jolted buildings in neighboring Armenia and Iran. It is the strongest temblor to hit Turkey in almost a decade.

In 1999, about 18,000 people died in two powerful earthquakes that struck the northwestern part of Turkey.