Turkey earthquake: The Turkish Ambassador to India Firat Sunel on Monday referred to New Delhi as 'dost' after the Centre decided to offer assistance to the quake-hit nation.
"Dost" is a common word in Turkish and Hindi... We have a Turkish proverb: "Dost kara gunde belli olur" (a friend in need is a friend indeed). Thank you very much India," he tweeted.
On Tuesday, the first Indian Air Force (IAF) C-17 flight carrying national disaster response force (NDRF) personnel as well as relief materials reached Turkey.
"First Indian C17 flight with more than 50 @NDRFHQ Search and Rescue personnel, specially trained dog squads, drilling machines, relief material, medicines and other necessary utilities and equipment reaches Adana, Türkiye," external affairs minister S Jaishankar tweeted.
He added that a second plane is also getting ready for departure.
"India expresses its solidarity at this challenging moment," the minister stated further.
Earlier, Union Minister of State (MoS) for External Affairs V Muraleedharan visited Turkey's embassy and expressed condolences on the devastation caused by the powerful 7.8 magnitude earthquake. He also conveyed Prime Minister Narendra Modi's sympathy and humanitarian support.
So far, more than 4,300 people were killed after a major 7.8 magnitude earthquake struck Turkey and Syria on Monday.
Hours after the strong earthquake, Prime Minister Narendra Modi instructed the officials to offer all possible assistance to Turkey.
Two teams of NDRF comprising 100 personnel with specially trained dog squads and necessary equipment are ready to be flown to the earthquake-hit area for search and rescue operations, the PMO said.
"Anguished by the loss of lives and damage of property due to the Earthquake in Turkey. Condolences to the bereaved families. May the injured recover soon. India stands in solidarity with the people of Turkey and is ready to offer all possible assistance to cope with this tragedy," the Prime Minister tweeted.
As per the US Geological Survey, the 7.8 magnitude tremor struck at 04:17 local time (01:17 GMT) at a depth of 17.9 km (11 miles) near the city of Gaziantep.
Also Read: Watch: Buildings collapse in Turkey after powerful 7.8 magnitude earthquake strikes