A team from humanitarian organisation Gift of the Givers left last night to assist victims in Türkiye and Syria following the devastating magnitude 7.8 earthquake that has left thousands dead and thousands more trapped under rubble.
Reuters said that the death toll from Monday’s quakes, which hit a wide area of Türkiye and Syria, exceeded 5 000 and rescuers raced against time to dig people out of the rubble of collapsed buildings.
“Turkish authorities say about 13.5 million people were affected in an area spanning roughly 450km from Adana in the west to Diyarbakir in the east, and 300km from Malatya in the north to Hatay in the south. Syrian authorities have reported deaths as far south as Hama, about 100km from the epicentre,” according to the Reuters report.
Dr Imtiaz Sooliman, founder of Gift of the Givers, said their teams based in Syria were already assisting communities with search-and-rescue efforts after the earthquake.
“Rescue teams here were on site on Monday at Gift of the Givers head office in Pietermaritzburg, packing specialised equipment destined for Türkiye. The search-and-rescue equipment arrived early this morning (Tuesday) at our new warehouse in Johannesburg.”
Sooliman added that a team from Cape Peninsula University of Technology packed other search-and-rescue equipment that would be dispatched from Cape Town.
“I met with Burak Yildiz, the general manager of Turkish Airlines in Johannesburg, yesterday. During the meeting, Turkish Airlines expressed their appreciation for our interventions and extended their support by offering complimentary flight services for all external and internal flights, as well as the transport of all search-and-rescue equipment and humanitarian supplies.
“The airline will also have representatives available to assist with onward movements in Türkiye.”
Namritha Sivsanker, CEO and founder of Hope SA Foundation, said their team planned to leave tonight.
“From what we have heard from the ground, there have been more than 4 000 deaths and there are more than 20 000 people trapped following the earthquake.
“Both Türkiye and Syria are in a state of panic. Those who are near the affected areas are driving for hours to get away as they are scared to remain in the area.
“They are sleeping in their cars and the problem is that the roads are frozen due to the snow.”
Sivsanker said the foundation aimed to assist with humanitarian aid wherever they could.
“Our team consists of doctors, medics and trauma counsellors. There is concern on the ground as airports are closed in the cities affected by the earthquake.
“This could mean we could be driving for hours on frozen roads to bring humanitarian aid and will be sleeping in tents.
“We are sending whatever we can in aid, including food, clothing, nappies, sleeping bags and other supplies to assist the people of Türkiye and Syria.”
Zohra Teke, owner of Sofra Istanbul in Durban and a freelance journalist, said she had been told by family in Türkiye that the weather was bad and this was hampering rescue efforts.
“I have heard from family members in Türkiye that there are people crying out for help, trapped underneath the rubble, but it is difficult to reach them.
“Hatay is one of the worst affected cities and with the airport closed, it is a long drive from the capital city Ankara, which hasn’t been affected, to Hatay, and the weather is not helping.”
Teke added that Türkiye doesn’t have enough rescue teams and machinery.
“There are people using their bare hands to try to rescue people from the rubble. Every hour and every minute just makes it more critical for people trapped under the rubble.
“The city of Gaziantep has also been badly affected, this city is on the border of Syria and also has a lot of Syrians living there.”