The International Federation of the Red Cross (IFRC) requested this Saturday 200 million Swiss francs (202 million euros) to help finance support operations for the victims of Monday’s earthquakes in Turkey and Syria.
In a statement, the IFRC highlights that it participates in the operations through medical support and the transport of wounded to hospitals, for which it has some 8,000 people, including employees and volunteers.
According to the IFRC, 120 million Swiss francs (121 million euros) are destined to finance works in Turkey and the remaining 80 million Swiss francs (81 million euros) in Syria.
“The level of pain and suffering is immense and the need for support is equally enormous. […] We call on the international community to help the Syrian and Turkish people not only in the days ahead, but in the months and years it will take them to recover,” said IFRC Secretary General Jagan Chapagain.
The most urgent needs, he told the IFRC, are tents, sanitary equipment, psychological care, food and drinking water.
According to the latest official data released today, more than 24,000 people died as a result of the earthquakes that shook southern Turkey and northwestern Syria on Monday.
According to Afad, a Turkish relief organization, 20,665 bodies have been removed from the rubble in Turkey so far, and 3,553 bodies have been counted in Syria, according to an official balance.
In Syria, the earthquakes, with their epicenter in Turkey, have so far caused the death of a total of 3,553 people and the injuries of more than 5,276 who need urgent attention.
These figures bring to 24,218 the total deaths in the two countries struck by an earthquake measuring 7.8 on the Richter scale, which was followed by several aftershocks, one of them measuring 7.5.
Source: TSF
