German Chancellor Olaf Scholz held a telephone conversation with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Tuesday, in which he pledged to increase aid to the country, hit by devastating earthquakes that have already left more than 7,200 people dead, along with Syria.
According to the German government spokesman, Steffen Hebestreit, Scholz has guaranteed Erdogan «more comprehensive support to deal with this catastrophe», which in Turkey has claimed more than 5,400 lives and has so far left more than 31,000 injured, according to the latest official balance.
Germany has so far deployed 50 earthquake experts specialized in locating and rescuing people buried under the rubble, belonging to the Technical Relief Agency, an aid organization financed by the European Union.
About 7,200 people have been killed by the succession of earthquakes registered on Monday in the south of Turkey, near the Syrian border, according to data provided by the authorities of both countries and the ‘white helmets’ that are working in Syrian opposition areas.
In Turkey alone, the death toll has already exceeded 5,400, and President Erdogan has declared a state of emergency for the next three months in the main affected provinces, where troops from more than fifty countries have arrived.
Source: (EUROPA PRESS)
