KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia has deployed 70 personnel from three agencies to aid in the search and rescue (SAR) mission in Turkey, following a devastating earthquake which has claimed more than 1,500 lives.
The personnel comprise members of the elite Special Malaysia Disaster Assistance and Rescue Team (SMART), the HAZMAT (hazardous material) unit, K9 dog tracker unit, Fire and Rescue Department as well as the medical team from the Armed Forces Royal Medical Corps.
They will be involved in search and rescue missions to find victims of the disaster.
Foreign Minister Datuk Seri Dr Zambry Abdul Kadir said Malaysia's swift action in deploying the rescue team was done upon the directive of Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim on humanitarian grounds and Malaysia's close ties with Turkey.
"The initial stages will involve aiding search and rescue operations in the affected areas. The team are bringing 10 tonnes of emergency equipment to aid the SAR efforts.
"Wisma Putra will be working with the National Disaster Management Agency (NADMA), the Malaysian embassy in Turkey as well as the Turkish embassy in Malaysia to coordinate the aid," he told the press at the Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA) tonight.
Zambry said the Foreign Ministry will also assess whether any additional aid is needed apart from the number of SAR personnel.
"Malaysia is ever ready to extend aid, including emergency aid, when needed," he said.
Malaysia, he said, will first assess the situation at the affected areas before deciding to deploy additional aid.
Southern Turkey was hit by a 7.7-magnitude earthquake on Monday morning, which was followed by two more strong quakes.
The affected areas include Gaziantep, Sanliurfa, Diyarbakir, Adana, Adiyaman, Malatya, Osmaniye, Hatay, and Kilis.
Apart from Turkey, neighbouring Syria and Lebanon were also affected by the earthquake.