Georgian Interior Minister pledges support for rescuers in Turkey following earthquake

Georgian Interior Minister Vakhtang Gomelauri on Monday pledged the readiness of his office to support Turkish rescuers working in the aftermath of the deadly earthquake that killed hundreds in the country earlier in the day.

Extending his condolences “in this time of great ordeal”, Gomelauri told his Turkish colleague Suleyman Soylu the Ministry would be ready to support rescue works on the ground.

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Earlier on Monday Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili said his Government would send rescue groups and hardware to the affected locations in Turkey in “the next few hours”, with crews from the Special and Emergency Operations Centre of the Ministry of Internal Affairs to be involved in the assistance.

Georgia’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said a Georgian citizen was killed as a result of the earthquake in the Turkish city of Antakya. The body noted Georgian diplomatic mission in Turkey was “in contact” with the family members of the deceased and relevant agencies of Turkey.

The earthquake stuck just after 4am local time on Monday, 23 kilometres east of Nurdağı in Gaziantep province, near the Turkey-Syria border, with shockwaves felt in the region’s several countries, including Lebanon and Syria.

Turkey’s disaster agency said earlier on Monday 912 people had been killed and 2,400 injured, while a Syrian health official said over 386 people had been killed and more than 600 injured in the country.