ISTANBUL
Saudi King Salman bin Abdulaziz on Tuesday reiterated the kingdom’s solidarity with Türkiye after the two devastating earthquake struck the country last week.
The monarch briefed the cabinet on a recent phone call between Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan during which he offered condolences to the Turkish leader over the quake victims, the state news agency SPA reported.
The cabinet also followed on the Saudi efforts to mitigate the impact of the earthquake disaster on the Turkish and Syrian peoples as well as Saudi rescue and relief efforts, SPA said.
Saudi Arabia has so far dispatched seven planes loaded with relief materials to Türkiye, along with 95 rescue workers, 55 medical personnel and two delegations representing the Saudi Red Crescent Society and the King Salman Humanitarian Aid and Relief Center.
At least 31,974 people were killed and more than 81,000 others injured in the deadly quakes that jolted southern Türkiye last week, according to the latest official figures.
The magnitude 7.7 and 7.6 earthquakes, centered in the Kahramanmaras province, were felt by 13 million people across 10 provinces in Türkiye, and also affected several countries in the region.
In neighboring Syria, at least 3,688 people were killed and over 14,749 injured from two strong earthquakes.
