Operation Dost spotlights India’s unwavering support for quake-hit Turkey and Syria

Carrying forward the G20 mantra of ‘One Earth, One Family, One Future’, India continues to showcase its Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief (HADR) capabilities in action by sending massive humanitarian aid to earthquake-hit Turkey and Syria under ‘Operation Dost’.

As the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) held a special briefing on Wednesday evening detailing the emergency relief assistance being provided by India, teams from the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) had already commenced search and rescue operations in the Turkish city of Gaziantep.

At the Damascus airport a few hours before that, over six tonnes of emergency relief assistance reached Syria and was received by Syria’s Deputy Minister of Local Administration and Environment Moutaz Douaji.

The consignment consists of three truckloads of emergency medicines and equipment including portable ECG machines, patient monitors and other essential medical items.

Sanjay Verma, Secretary (West) at the MEA, stated on Wednesday that India sent a Search and Rescue (SAR) flight within 12 hours of a meeting after receiving an email from the Turkish side requesting for assistance.

Following that, four more flights were sent to Turkey, two with NDRF teams and another couple carrying medical teams. One aircraft carrying medical supplies and equipment was sent to Syria making it a total of six relief flights out of India since early Tuesday.

With the death toll nearing 10,000, Turkey is battling its biggest natural disaster since 1939. North-Western Syria too has been badly hit by the quake causing massive destruction and loss of precious lives.

According to NDRF Director General Atul Karwal, the first two teams which landed at Adana and Urfa in Turkey on Tuesday consisting of seven vehicles, 101 rescuers – including five women rescuers and four sniffer dogs – are already in operation.

The third team, he said, was airlifted from Varanasi to Hindon airport and will depart to Turkey shortly with 51 rescuers, a canine complement and four vehicles.

As reported by IndiaNarrative.com, Indian Air Force aircraft carrying an Indian Army field hospital for a 30-bedded medical facility have also reached Turkey.

The 89-member team of medical specialists from the Indian Army is equipped with x-ray machines, ventilators, oxygen generation plants, cardiac monitors and associated equipment, to establish the medical facility.

While the Syrian Ambassador in New Delhi, Bassam al-Khatteeb, thanked the Indian government as well as the Indian people, the Ambassador of Turkey to India Firat Sunel labeled India as a great friend.

“Dost is a common word in Turkish and Hindi… We have a Turkish proverb: Dost kara gunde belli olur (a friend in need is a friend indeed). Thank you very much India,” Sunel tweeted.

The MEA, which has set up a control room in Adana, revealed that one Indian national who was on a business visit is missing in the quake-hit region while another 10 are stuck in remote parts of affected areas but remain safe.

India reiterated on Wednesday that it has over the years extended humanitarian, technical and developmental assistance to Syria through bilateral and multilateral channels.

“Consignments of food and medicines have been supplied to Syria from time to time, including during the pandemic. Two Artificial Limb Fitment Camps (Jaipur Foot) have been organized in Syria in December 2020 and recently in October-November 2022,” said MEA.

Also Read – Watch: Syria and Turkey thank India as Indian humanitarian aid reaches earthquake-hit region