Baptist Aid sending rescue team to Turkiye

The HUBA Rescue24 international team and an emergency medical team will be leaving for Turkiye on Monday evening after a request for international assistance by the Turkish authorities, the organisation said in a statement.

The team has already assembled its equipment and made contact with Turkish colleagues they have worked with in the past, they said.

Mark Szabo, a member of the search and rescue team, told MTI that the team will comprise 19 people and two rescue dogs.

The team is constantly staying updated on the situation in Turkiye, Szabo said, adding that they are taking with them an inflatable tent and power generators. He said they expect their mission to take 7-10 days, beginning with rescue efforts and then providing medical assistance.

The Baptist Aid’s special rescue team also provided assistance to Turkiye after earthquakes in 1999 and 2001.

Orbán: Hungary standing by Turkiye ‘in tragic moment’

Prime Minister Viktor Orbán sent his condolences to Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in a letter over the earthquake that shook southern Turkiye in the early hours of Monday, and offered Hungary’s help.

“Hungary is standing by Turkiye at this tragic moment”, Orbán said, adding that he learnt about the disaster “with deep shock and sorrow”.

Orbán expressed his sympathy to the families of the victims and wished a speedy recovery to the injured.

Szijjarto: Hungarian embassy in Ankara temporarily evacuated

The building of the Hungarian embassy in Ankara has been temporarily evacuated following the earthquake in Turkiye, Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto said on Monday. The government will send a team of fifty people on Monday evening to help with rescue operations in the affected area, he added.

Szijjarto said he had recently talked to his Turkish counterpart Mevlut Cavusoglu, expressed his sympathies and offered Hungary’s help in the search for survivors, caring for the injured and restoring damaged infrastructure.

The earthquake could also be felt in the building of Hungary’s embassy in Ankara which has been temporarily evacuated pending an evaluation of its structural integrity by experts, he said.

“We have informed Hungarian citizens staying in Turkey, including 213 people who have registered for consulate protection, about which areas of the country should not be visited,” he said. “We know about one Hungarian person staying in the affected area, with whom we maintain continuous contact,” he added.

He asked for persons with information about Hungarian citizens staying in the affected areas to report them to the consulate.

He also said that a team of fifty Hungarian rescuers, including six doctors, will leave for Turkiye under arrangements by the disaster management authority later in the day.

Earthquake damage has also been reported from Syria, with several Christian communities having been seriously affected, Szijjarto said.

“Support to them will also be on the agenda in the upcoming days, and help will be sent,” he added.