KUALA LUMPUR, April 17 — Turkiye Embassy in Kuala Lumpur in collaboration with Turkish International Cooperation and Development Agency (TIKA) on Monday held a breaking of fast event for the Malaysian rescue team personnel involved in the post-earthquake search and rescue (SAR) efforts in Turkiye.
The event held at a leading hotel here was attended by over 160 personnel from the Malaysian Special Search and Rescue Team (SMART) and Operation Starlight II teams.
Also present were Deputy Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department (Sabah, Sarawak Affairs and Special Functions) Datuk Wilson Ugak Kumbong and Director General of the National Disaster Management Agency (NADMA) Datuk Khairul Shahril Idrus.
Turkiye ambassador to Malaysia Emir Salim Yuksel expressed his gratitude to Malaysia and its people who, in solidarity with the Turkish people, prayed for the Turkish people and made donations for the relief efforts.
“This most unfortunate disaster proved that Turkiye has the most valuable friends like Malaysia that mobilised immediate help from thousands of miles away,” he said.
Malaysia was among the earliest countries to assist Turkiye in the SAR efforts after the twin earthquakes on Feb 6, which killed more than 50,000 people in the country and prompted international solidarity.
The magnitude 7.7 and 7.6 quakes in southern Turkiye struck 11 provinces – Adana, Adiyaman, Diyarbakir, Elazig, Hatay, Gaziantep, Kahramanmaras, Kilis, Malatya, Osmaniye, and Sanliurfa.
Around 14 million people in Turkiye have been affected by the quakes as well as many others in northern Syria.
