PH mulling sending rescue team or aid to quake-hit Syria

Residents search for victims and survivors amidst the rubble of collapsed buildings following an earthquake in the village of Besnaya in Syria’s rebel-held northwestern Idlib province on the border with Turkey, on February 6, 2022. – At least 1,293 people were killed and 3,411 injured across Syria today in an earthquake that had its epicentre in southwestern Turkey, the government and rescuers said. (Photo by OMAR HAJ KADOUR / AFP)

MANILA, Philippines — The Office of Civil Defense (OCD) said Thursday that the Philippine government is now considering sending a team or aid to also help Syria, which was likewise rattled by a major earthquake like Turkey.

In an interview with reporters, OCD spokesperson Bernardo Rafaelito Alejandro IV said this developed after the Syrian Embassy in Manila formally sent a “flash appeal” on Wednesday night.

“That is what we are evaluating with the DFA (Department of Foreign Affairs) of course,” Alejandro said when asked if the Philippines would send a contingency team similar to Turkey.

“Either we can send another contingent or send donations or relief items,” he added.

Earlier Thursday, the OCD said the 83-man Philippine rescue team composed of military, medical, and Metropolitan Manila Development Authority personnel arrived in Istanbul, Turkey, to help in rescue efforts.

To date, the deadly magnitude 7.8 earthquake that shook Turkey and Syria on Monday morning (February 6) has already claimed the lives of more than 15,000 people, according to a report by Agence France-Presse.

KGA