A 59-person Hong Kong rescue team has left for Türkiye after the country and neighbouring Syria were struck by two massive earthquake that left at least 12,000 people dead.

Hong Kong was the latest to send a relief team to the region, joining others including the United Kingdom, South Korea, China, and Taiwan.

Acting Chief Executive Eric Chan and Secretary for Security Chris Tang sending off a Hong Kong rescue team at the Hong Kong International Airport on February 8, 2023.
Acting Chief Executive Eric Chan and Secretary for Security Chris Tang sending off a Hong Kong rescue team to at the Hong Kong International Airport on February 8, 2023. Photo: GovHK.

The southern part of Türkiye and parts of neighbouring Syria were hit by a 7.8 magnitude quake on Monday, followed by a 7.7 magnitude quake about nine hours later.

The Hong Kong team was led by Yiu Men-yeung, deputy chief fire officer, and comprises 49 members of the Fire Services Department’s Urban Search and Rescue Team, and two rescue dogs.

Officers from the city’s Security Bureau, Immigration Department, and the Department of Health were also dispatched on Wednesday night.

Survivors gather next to a bonfire outside collapsed buildings in Kahramanmaras on February 8, 2023, after their homes were destroyed in a 7.8 magnitude earthquake which struck the border region of Turkey and Syria on February 6. - Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has conceded "shortcomings" after criticism of his government's response to the massive earthquake that killed over 11,700 people in Turkey and Syria. The sprawling scale of the disaster that flattened thousands of buildings, trapping an unknown number of people, has swamped relief operations already hampered by freezing weather.
Survivors gather next to a bonfire outside collapsed buildings in Kahramanmaras on February 8, 2023, after their homes were destroyed in a 7.8 magnitude earthquake which struck the border region of Turkey and Syria on February 6. Photo: Adem Altan/AFP.

Acting Chief Executive Eric Chan and Secretary for Security Chris Tang saw the team off at the Hong Kong International Airport.

“I think this deployment is very meaningful,” said Chan. “It can also show mutual aid, no only in the country, but also for people of other countries. We will help when there is need…”

See also: Guide: How Hongkongers can help those affected by the Türkiye earthquake

Peyami Kalyoncu, consul general of Türkiye to Hong Kong and Macau, said at the airport that they were “very grateful.”

The consul general said that his country had urged other states and the international community to send assistance after Türkiye was hit by “one of the strongest earthquake in our history.”

“I would like to thank here the government of Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, they very fast, promptly and positively, replied to our request,” said Kalyoncu.

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Candice is a reporter at Hong Kong Free Press. She previously worked as a researcher at a local think tank. She has a BSocSc in Politics and International Relations from the University of Manchester and a MSc in International Political Economy from London School of Economics.