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European countries and Commission offer swift aid to Turkey in coordinated solidarity gesture

  • The death toll has risen to 550 and the number of the injured to 2,300. A total of 185 people have been rescued from collapsed buildings since the quake
28/10/2011  - 

Fourteen European Union countries have responded to the call for assistance to Turkey that was transmitted by the European Commission on Wednesday night. After the strong earthquakes that inflicted massive damage in the Turkish province of Van, the authorities requested tents and pre-made houses to shelter those who had lost their homes.

Just 24 hours into the appeal, Austria, Belgium, Czech Republic, Denmark, France, UK, Sweden, Slovakia, Slovenia, Romania, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Germany and Spain have offered 4700 tents through the European Civil Protection Mechanism. Around 22,500 people can be sheltered in them. The European assistance is now on its way to the disaster region. Its swift provision is coordinated through the Commission's emergency response centre.

The Commission has also sent a European civil protection team to the disaster site. The seven experts (Swedish, Finnish, British, Austiran and Belgian) will facilitate the coordinated delivery of Europe's emergency assistance on the ground.