The European Union (EU) has shown on Monday its «solidarity» and its readiness to «help» after more than 600 people were killed by an earthquake measuring 7.4 on the open Richter scale in southern Turkey, near the Syrian border.
«Deeply saddened to learn this morning of the devastating earthquake that has struck parts of Turkey and Syria,» said the president of the European Council, Charles Michel, in a message posted on his official account on the social network Twitter.
«My deepest condolences to the many families who have lost lives and a speedy recovery to the injured. The EU shows its total solidarity with you,» he said.
In this line has expressed the EU High Representative for Foreign Policy and Common Security, Josep Borrell, who has regretted that the earthquake has killed «hundreds» of people and «injured many more». «Our thoughts are with the people of Turkey and Syria. The EU stands ready to help,» he stressed.
For her part, the president of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, has shown her «total solidarity» with «the people of Turkey and Syria» after the «deadly earthquake.» «We mourn with the families of the victims. Europe’s support is already on its way and we are ready to continue to help in any way we can,» she has assessed.
The EU has activated this Monday the Civil Protection Mechanism to coordinate the response to the earthquake, as confirmed by the Commissioner for Crisis Management, Janez Lenarcic, who said in a message on social networks that the EU Emergency Response Coordination Center is already coordinating the deployment of rescue teams from Europe, with the Netherlands and Romania being the first member states to have offered assistance.
So far, more than 280 people have been confirmed dead and 2,300 injured in Turkey, as well as nearly 240 dead and 640 injured in areas of Syria controlled by the authorities. To these figures must be added more than 90 dead and 500 wounded in rebel-held areas in the provinces of Aleppo and Idlib, as detailed in statements to the German news agency DPA by the president of the Syrian American Medical Society, Basel Termanini.
Source: (EUROPA PRESS)
