World awaits Turkish call for help, officials says thanks

In the recent aftermath of a deadly earthquake that rocked eastern Turkey and left hundreds dead on Sunday, countries have rushed to extend condolences to the traumatized country and offer to send rescue teams and humanitarian aid, even though the Turkish government has so far declined all offers in the belief that domestic efforts will be sufficient in dealing with the earthquake's fallout. The earthquake, measuring 7.2 on the Richter scale, hit the eastern province of Van on Sunday afternoon and resulted in the collapse of almost 1,000 buildings in Van and neighboring towns, triggering world leaders and a large number of countries to mobilize rescue teams and pack humanitarian aid to send to Turkey in case the country gives the green light for foreign help. Azerbaijan was the first country to send a search-and-rescue team to Turkey, and many others offered to dispatch teams and aid planes to the province that officials fear may have a death toll of as high as 1,000 after a thorough search is conducted and the rubble of the collapsed buildings is completely cleared. Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan rushed to the eastern province on Sunday and told reporters that many countries called to express their condolences and that Turkey appreciated their words. "I would like to thank the heads of state and governments of those countries [that have offered to help]," he was quoted as saying by the Anatolia news agency yesterday. Erdogan noted that the EU, the UN, NATO and the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) had talked to the Turkish Foreign Ministry to contribute to relief efforts, and a number of countries, including China, Bulgaria, Azerbaijan, Germany, Israel, the US, Hungary, Canada, Japan, Russia and Greece reached Turkish officials in a display of solidarity as they offered help to the Turkish nation. Turkey has so far refrained from calling for international help in the fallout of the devastating disaster, with Turkish officials expressing that the country is still trying to assess the damage and hopes that Turkey will prove self-sufficient. An Azerbaijani plane was the first help dispatched to Van from a foreign country, carrying a 145-member health team and search dogs to contribute to relief efforts. Pakistan followed suit with a cargo plane that brought medicine, tents, a team of medical doctors and paramedics to the earthquake zone on Monday, following a statement issued by the Pakistani Embassy to Turkey that Pakistan was "feeling the pain of [its] Turkish brothers and sisters affected by [the] massive earthquake in eastern Turkey" and therefore a plane would be sent immediately to help survivors. Turkish media noted that help from Iran and Bulgaria also reached Van before the country decided international help may not be necessary. Two Russian planes were also expected to take off for Turkey on Monday, with a load of rescue teams, search dogs, psychologists and a mobile hospital to help shoulder the treatment of more than 1,000 wounded survivors. Russian leaders, including the prime minister and president, called their Turkish counterparts to emphasize that Russia was ready to mobilize all efforts and stands by Turkey in this hardest of times. A visiting Korean warship called Kang Gam Chan arrived in Istanbul on Monday to commemorate the Korean War, in which Turkey was one of the sides fighting alongside the Koreans and lost close to 1,000 people, while several thousand returned home wounded. The ship's crew delivered cash aid in the amount of $6,000, collected among the crew as a meaningful contribution to relief efforts.