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Members of the Korea Disaster Relief Team work to recover victims in the city of Antakya, Turkey, Friday. (Yonhap) |
South Korea will send a second group of rescuers to quake-hit Turkey on Thursday, as well as a separate group of 29 medical staff within a week. Korea will also establish a separate unit within state ministries to organize relief and fundraising activities to support Turkish people who lost homes and families, the presidential office said Monday.
The 29 medical staff are a part of 372 people who signed up for the medical treatment mission to Turkey, presidential spokesperson Lee Do-hoon said, adding that 150 tents and 2,200 blankets will be sent on a military plane Thursday evening.
“Korea, a bloody ally and brother country of Turkey, should take the lead in helping the country overcome its sorrow,” President Yoon Suk Yeol was quoted as saying at a meeting with his secretaries in the morning. “Korea never forgets the help of our brother countries during the Korean War.”
“Tents, medicines and electric facilities are what Turkey needs the most right now,” Yoon said, urging the ministries of foreign affairs, defense and industry to mobilize all available resources to secure as many relief supplies as possible and promptly discuss plans with Turkey.
Yoon also told them to “designate a separate division of each ministry” to support the immediate emergency relief and also asked the Office for Government Policy Coordination to supervise them.
Spokesperson Lee also said that a fund of 37 billion won ($29 million) was raised through separate donations from seven fundraising organizations, including the Korean Red Cross, major corporations, religious organizations and local governments.
The Korean government dispatched an emergency relief team of 118 people to the site of the earthquake on Feb. 8. The Korea Disaster Relief Team rescued eight survivors and recovered 18 bodies by 9 a.m. Monday.
