A first batch of donations from Taiwan for survivors of a magnitude 7.8 earthquake in Turkey arrived in the country yesterday morning, the Buddhist Compassion Relief Tzu Chi Foundation said.
The donations, including 1,358 boxes containing 8,148 blankets, arrived at 5:30am as part of international relief efforts after the earthquake struck on Monday last week, the foundation said.
After their arrival, the supplies would be transported on a domestic flight to Adana airport, the operational airport that is closest to the affected area, where they would be distributed by local authorities, it said.
Photo: I-Hwa Cheng, REUTERS
The foundation said it is working with the Turkish Trade Office in Taipei to accept donations at the Buddhist group’s office in Taipei’s Neihu District (內湖).
It said it accepts newly bought winter clothes for adults and children, beds, sleeping pads, sleeping bags, mattresses, blankets, thermos flasks, flashlights, diapers, sanitary pads, and cleaning and hygiene items.
The 150 tonnes of donations was loaded onto an airplane at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport on Saturday.
Photo courtesy of Taiwan Space Agency
The Turkish office at the time said it expected them to arrive in Turkey yesterday evening.
Turkish Representative to Taiwan Muhammed Berdibek yesterday said the amount of donations the office received was overwhelming.
It temporarily stopped accepting donations at 5pm yesterday, ahead of the original deadline on Wednesday, he added.
However, the office later said that people who had already bought relief items for Turkey could bring them in until 5pm today.
Berdibek said the relief process is expected to take months or years.
If Turkey needs more assistance from Taiwan, the office would make an announcement, because “we know you are so generous and so kind,” he said.
Meanwhile, Huang Qiu-liang (黃秋良), a volunteer at the foundation who is helping handle donations at its Neihu liaison office, said that more than 1,000 volunteers had been helping at the office each day since Friday.
They accept donations and prepare them for transport to Taoyuan airport, Huang said
Today, the Taiwanese military is scheduled to dispatch 10 trucks and 30 personnel to help transfer supplies to the airport, he said.
They would be loaded onto a Turkish Airlines plane and sent to Turkey as soon as possible, Huang added.
Huang said only new items would be accepted, citing hygiene and COVID-19 concerns.
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