“God Bless You, India. Thank You So Much,”: Turkey Locals On ‘Operation Dost’

New Delhi: The locals in Turkiye expressed their gratitude to India for providing rescue assistance through operation dost after an earthquake of 7.8 magnitude hit central Turkiye and northwest Syria on February 6.

In a video shared by the news agency ANI, locals appreciated and expressed gratitude towards India. “The Indian group has just arrived and helped us. I felt really alone but when they come here I felt secure again. Thank you so much for your support,” a local said.

“God bless you India. Thank you so much,” said another. A team of the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), involved in the relief and rescue operation, pulled out two girls, aged 6 and 8, safely from the debris, ANI reported on Friday.

India started “Operation Dost” to aid Turkiye and Syria. Under ‘Operation Dost’, Union Health Ministry provided life-saving humanitarian medical Assistance to quake-hit Turkiye and Syria.

India sent relief supplies, a mobile hospital, and specialised search and rescue crews to Turkiye aboard four C-17 Globemaster military cargo planes to assist the country’s rescue efforts. India also sent humanitarian supplies to Turkiye via another aircraft.

According to a statement issued by the Union Health Ministry earlier, emergency relief material comprising life-saving medicines, protective items, and critical care equipment valued at over Rs 7 crore was arranged and promptly dispatched to Turkiye and Syria.

Three truckloads of relief materials, comprising life-saving emergency medicines and protective items, were arranged at the Hindon airbase.

The consignment consisted of 5,945-ton emergency relief material, including 27 life-saving medicines, two kinds of protective items, and three categories of critical care equipment, valued at approximately Rs 2 crore.

More relief materials were mobilised for both Turkiye and Syria on February 10. The consignment for Syria consisted of 72 critical care drugs, consumables, and protective items of 7.3 tons, valued at Rs 1.4 crore.