Prime Minister of Vietnam, Mr. Pham Minh Chinh, announced this week that the country will be donating USD 100,000 each to Turkey and Syria to support rescue efforts.
Following the 6 February earthquake that hit Turkey and Syria killing over 41,000 people, Mr. Chinh said in a letter to the President of Turkey that Vietnam will be making the aforementioned donation.
He also said in the letter that ministries and agencies will be assigned to undertake more support measures, reports Vietnam News.
The Vietnamese Embassy in both Turkey and Syria has kept a close watch on the situation, sending out officials to the sites, supporting medical personnel, contributing one day’s salary, and providing essential goods to the victims of the natural disaster that has ravaged the country.
Maj. Gen. Phạm Văn Tỵ, deputy chief of the Office of the National Committee for Incident and Disaster Response, Search and Rescue and deputy director of the Department of Search and Rescue under the Việt Nam People’s Army (VPA), directed the team in the search efforts, rescuing a 17-year old victim, along with removing 9 bodies from the rubble.
Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Phạm Quang Hiệu, who is also Chairman of the State Committee for Overseas Vietnamese Affairs (COVA), has extended his sympathies towards Turkey and Syria. He stated that there have been no Vietnamese casualties in Turkey, but the lives of some of its citizens have been seriously affected.
According to the Turkish Disaster and Emergency Management Authority, more than 6,400 buildings in the country collapsed after the two earthquakes and more than 430 aftershocks. Some 8,300 international personnel from over 90 countries have joined search and rescue operations in the region.
