The Indian Army has set up a field hospital in Hatay, Turkey, to help those affected by the quake. The hospital was built in less than six hours and operates around the clock to treat the wounded.
The death toll from the catastrophic earthquake that hit Turkey and Syria on Monday has climbed to more than 28,000. Rescue teams are searching for survivors in the rubble across Turkey despite sub-zero temperatures. World Health Organization Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus warned that time was running out to treat the thousands of injured and those still feared trapped.
A team of 96 Indian Army personnel has been stationed at the 60 Pala field hospital in Hatay Iskenderun to provide medical assistance.
“Nearly 800 people have been treated in hospitals,” Lieutenant Colonel Yaduvil Singh, commander of the 60th Para Field Hospital, told NDTV.
Col Singh said they are ready to receive patients if needed.
one #IAF C-17 took off last night #Syria and #turkeyBearing relief supplies and emergency equipment.@MEAIndia@NDRFHQ@HQ_IDS_Indiapic.twitter.com/Lg6Jb62oXL
— Indian Air Force (@IAF_MCC) February 12, 2023
60 Lieutenant Colonel Adash, the deputy commander of the Para field hospital, said they had performed 10 major surgeries at the hospital.
Many praised the military’s efforts. One patient treated at the hospital said: “Thank you Hindustan. We thank them for being with us. We are glad they are here.”
Earlier this week, a picture of a Turkish woman kissing the face of a female Indian Army soldier went viral. The post was shared by the official Twitter account of the Indian Army’s Additional Directorate General of Public Information (ADG PI). “We care,” they wrote in the caption.
A 7.8-magnitude earthquake struck while people were asleep on Monday, destroying thousands of buildings, trapping an unknown number of people and potentially affecting millions.
More than 28,000 people died in the earthquakes in Turkey and Syria. Officials reported 3,574 deaths in Syria and 24,617 in Turkey, bringing the confirmed death toll to 28,191. Nearly 6,000 buildings, including public hospitals, collapsed in seven cities, the government added.
