China News Agency, Brussels, February 7 (Reporter De Yongjian) After the strong earthquakes in Turkey and Syria caused thousands of deaths, the European Union announced on the 7th that it had dispatched nearly 1,200 rescuers to the earthquake-stricken areas in Turkey.
According to the announcement issued by the European Commission on the same day, through the EU civil defense mechanism (Turkey is a member of the mechanism), 19 EU member states and Albania and Montenegro have sent rescue teams and medical teams, a total of 1,185 people, and 79 search and rescue dogs.
The announcement stated that there are 25 rescue teams, 11 of which have arrived in the earthquake-stricken area of Turkey, and 14 are rushing to the disaster area; there are two medical teams that will provide emergency medical services to the affected people.
In addition, the European Commission's Emergency Response Coordination Center (ERCC) mobilized 11 EU member states to form a civil defense emergency response expert team, which will guide rescue operations in the earthquake-stricken areas of Turkey.
The announcement stated that the EU will provide emergency humanitarian assistance to the earthquake-stricken areas in Syria to support rescue operations and distribute basic living materials such as drinking water, sanitation facilities, medical supplies, and blankets to the affected people.
The EU civil defense mechanism was established in 2001 to coordinate the participating countries to respond to natural disasters, major accidents, emergencies, etc. in Europe and other regions. There are currently 35 member states, including 27 EU countries, the United Kingdom, Iceland, Norway, and Serbia , Montenegro, North Macedonia, Albania and Turkey.
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