The seventh “Operation Dost” aircraft, carrying more than 23 tonnes of relief aid, landed in earthquake-stricken Syria. Moutaz Douaji, the deputy minister of local administration and the environment, welcomed the plane at the airport in Damascus on Sunday (February 12), as reported by the PTI.
“The 7th #OperationDost flight reached Syria with over 23 tonnes of relief material, including gensets, solar lamps, emergency & critical care medicines, and disaster relief consumables. Received at Damascus airport by Deputy Minister of Local Administration and Environment Moutaz Douaji,” tweeted Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Arindam Bagchi.
As per schedule the IAF aircraft first landed in Syria, unloaded its supplies there, then flew to Turkey with emergency and critical care medicines, and other humanitarian supplies. The external affairs minister, S Jaishankar, also mentioned the airplane leaving Ghaziabad on his Twitter account.
He tweeted, “The 7th #OperationDost flight departs for Syria and Turkey. Flight is carrying relief material, medical aid, emergency & critical care medicines, medical equipment & consumables.”
The Indian Army also tweeted, “An #IAF C-17 aircraft got airborne last night for #Syria and #Turkiye, bearing relief material and emergency equipment.”
The aid being sent for Syria comprises relief materials, sleeping mats, gensets, solar lamps, tarpaulins, blankets, emergency and critical care medicines, and disaster relief consumables, according to the Ministry of External Affairs.
A massive earthquake struck Turkey and Syria on February 6, 2023. The death toll from the quakes that hit southeastern Turkiye and northern Syria stood at 33,179 on Sunday. The United Nations (UN) has estimated a combined total death toll of 50,000.
In response to the terrible earthquakes and aftershocks that struck the area, India initiated Operation Dost to provide aid to Turkey and Syria.
India is providing Turkey and Syria with a significant amount of humanitarian assistance as part of “Operation Dost”.
(With inputs from agencies)
