China on Tuesday announced its first batch of 40 million yuan ($5.9 million) of emergency assistance to Turkey, and that it would dispatch rescue teams to help save lives and provide assistance to Syria.
The death toll from Monday's devastating earthquake in Turkey and Syria has risen to 15,383, according to data released by authorities and rescuers.
The number of people killed in Turkey due to the devastating earthquake has reached 12,391, the country's Anadolu agency reported on Thursday, citing the Disaster and Emergency Management Authority.
In Syria, at least 1,262 were killed and 2,285 injured in government-held areas, said the Syrian Health Ministry. Media reports also cited rescue workers as saying that at least 1,730 were killed and over 2,850 injured in the opposition-held region in Syria.
A magnitude 7.7 earthquake struck Turkey's southern province of Kahramanmaras at 4:17am local time (1:17am GMT), followed by a magnitude 6.4 quake a few minutes later in the country's southern province of Gaziantep and a magnitude 7.6 earthquake at 1:24pm local time (10:24am GMT) in Kahramanmaras Province.
On Wednesday, an 82-member Chinese rescue team arrived at Adana Airport in Turkey at 4:30am local time (1:30am GMT) after flying over 8,000 km on a chartered Air China plane.
