Brazil to send rescue teams and medicine to Turkey after earthquake

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Brazil will send rescue teams, as well as equipment and medicine to help Turkey after the earthquake that hit the country and Syria this week, the Itamaraty announced this Wednesday (8).

At least 42 professionals, including 34 firefighters from São Paulo, Minas Gerais and Espírito Santo, are traveling to the Middle Eastern country on a Brazilian Air Force aircraft, according to a statement. There are also doctors and civil defense members.

Humanitarian aid also includes six tons of equipment to help with the search and four sniffer dogs to help locate earthquake victims.

Three sets of so-called “calamity kits”, which each contain 250 kg of medicines and emergency items, were also donated by the Ministry of Health and are on the way – they have the capacity to serve up to 1,500 people for a month.

The action involves, in addition to Itamaraty, the Ministries of Defence, Health, Regional Development, Justice and Public Security.

So far, the death toll due to the earthquake exceeds 12,000 – there are more than 9,000 victims in Turkey, and another 2,950 confirmed by the regime of Bashar al-Assad in Syria. But the figures are expected to grow as rescue work and the search for bodies in the rubble advance.

The magnitude 7.8 earthquake hit the countries in the early hours of Monday (6). The severity of the quake was compounded by the fact that it occurred in an area with social and economic weaknesses. The border region is marked by a strong presence of refugees and internally displaced people from the civil war that has raged in Syria for 12 years.

HELP FOR CHILE

The Lula government also signaled that it should soon send aid to Chile, where forest fires have already left more than 24 people dead in the center-south and destroyed hundreds of homes.

On social networks, President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (PT) said that he spoke with his Chilean counterpart, Gabriel Boric, this Wednesday, and that he is evaluating initiatives to provide support by sending specialized Air Force teams and planes to help control fire.

The Chilean National Association of Forests reported that the area affected by the fires already exceeds 300,000 hectares, something similar to twice the size of the city of São Paulo. Authorities said about 2,180 people were injured and 1,180 homes were destroyed.

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