Netherlands to send a search & rescue team to Turkey after 7.8 magnitude earthquake
The Netherlands will send an Urban Search and Rescue Team (USAR) to Turkey to help in the aftermath of a devastating earthquake that hit the country and Syria on Monday, Prime Minister Mark Rutte and Minister Wopke Hoekstra of Foreign Affairs said on Twitter. Over 500 people died, and thousands got hurt.
“Terrible news about the earthquake in Turkey and Syria. Our thoughts are with all the victims of this severe natural disaster,” Rutte said. “I have conveyed my condolences to President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.”
“Shocked by the news of the devastating earthquake in Turkey and Syria. Our thoughts are with the victims, their families, and the many injured Turks and Syrians,” Hoekstra said. “The Netherlands will send an Urban Search and Rescue team to Turkey. This team includes police and military personnel, first aid responders, and firefighters.”
USAR confirmed their deployment and launched a live blog where their response can be followed.
The quake had a magnitude of 7.8, according to Stephen Hicks, a seismologist at the University College in London. “In fact, without too much doubt, I think today’s earthquake might go down as the joint largest - if not the largest - quake ever to be instrumentally recorded in Turkey. The previous largest event was an M7.8 quake in December 1939.”
Just after 8:00 a.m., Dutch time, Turkey had recorded over 280 dead and 2,300 injured people, according to NOS. The Syrian state television reported over 230 deaths on their side.
The broadcaster’s Turkey correspondent, Mitra Nazar, expects the number of deaths to rise significantly in the coming period. “1,700 buildings collapsed in ten major cities,” Nazar said. “The images on television and social media speak for themselves. You see apartment buildings that have collapsed. It happened in the middle of the night, so many people were asleep.”
