SEOUL– South Korea said Wednesday it plans to send a new relief team, including 10 medical workers, to Turkey this week as well as 55 tons of aid materials.
The decision to send the 21-member squad was made at an interagency meeting on ways to help the country struggling to deal with the aftermath of the devastating 7.8 magnitude quake, according to the foreign ministry.
It is scheduled to depart for the city of Adana on Thursday night. Its members include those from the National Medical Center and the Korea Foundation for International Healthcare.
The government plans to mobilize two military transport aircraft and a commercial flight for the dispatch of the team and delivery of such additional relief materials as tents and blankets.
Last week, South Korea sent 118 members of the Korea Disaster Relief Team, mostly for search and rescue operations, to the city of Antakya, having offered US$5 million in emergency humanitarian assistance. Having saved eight survivors, they are faced with poor working conditions and deteriorating security situations in the area.
The existing team is to move to Adana before heading back home this week.
On Monday, President Yoon Suk Yeol ordered the government to mobilize all available resources for the country’s emergency relief and reconstruction efforts.
Source: Yonhap News Agency