All means mobilized to help quake-hit people: Erdogan

ANKARA

Turkey has mobilized all the means available to help people affected by the Friday’s powerful earthquake, the country’s president said.

President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said the government, together with ministers and all institutions, is making all efforts to save people, who have been under the rubble of collapsed buildings, and to help everyone affected by the shock.

"We have mobilized all the means available for rescue efforts to be concluded as soon as possible," he said.

At least 12 people were killed and 522 others injured when a magnitude 6.6 earthquake jolted the city of Izmir on the Turkish Aegean.

"Among the wounded, five are in surgery, eight are in intensive care units. Right now, search and rescue operations are taking place around 17 [damaged] buildings," Erdogan said.

The Turkish Red Crescent sent 48 staffers, 16 vehicles, and three mobile field kitchens which have the capacity to serve over 25,000 people.

Also, 960 disaster tents, 4,500 blankets, 3,672 beds were dispatched to the region, the disaster management agency added.

It also said emergency aid of 5 million Turkish liras (around $600,000) was sent to the region by the Family, Labor and Social Services Ministry.

AFAD said that another earthquake, magnitude 5.1, hit the Aegean Sea, 20 kilometers (12.4 miles) off the Kusadasi district of Turkey's Aydin province.

- Turkey ready to develop vaccine by next spring

Speaking at the Aziz Sancar Science, Service and Incentive Awards, Erdogan expressed his gratitude to the health personnel who are devotedly working during the coronavirus pandemic,.

"There is still no definitive and effective cure for the epidemic, in which the number of cases exceeded 45 million and the loss of life reached 1.2 million," he said.

On the one hand, Erdogan emphasized, Turkey closely monitors efforts to develop vaccines by countries like China, Russia and US, while on the other hand Turkey is making an intense effort to develop its own vaccine.

"I hope we will be able to administer our own vaccine to our citizens by next spring," Erdogan said.

He said the world, especially the developed ones, failed the test of solidarity and that the oppressed nations were left to their fate in the face of the pandemic.

He noted that the world, especially developed countries, did not give a good test in solidarity during the epidemic and that the oppressed and the victims were left to their fate.

"We have considered it our duty to come to the aid all over the world, regardless of religion, language, race or region. During the epidemic period, we responded positively to the demands of 155 countries and eight international organizations for medical supplies and shared our opportunities," he said.

Erdogan congratulated Prof. Dr. Taner Demirer on winning the Aziz Sancar Science Award for his studies on hematology, medical oncology and stem cell.