The first ship carrying humanitarian aid for earthquake victims is departing from Keratsini port to Iskenderun (Alexandretta) port in Turkey early Wednesday afternoon. An airplane is scheduled to bring humanitarian aid to victims in Syria on Thursday..
The ship will transport five trucks with material strictly requested by Turkey such as blankets, tents, sleeping bags and chemical toilets.
The specific material weighs 250 cubic metres of which, 240 cubic metres of blankets and sleeping equipment, 2 cubic metres of heating devices, 2 cubic metres of medicines and pharmaceutical material and 6 cubic metres of personal hygiene items.
Citing sources, state-news agency amna reports that an aircraft loaded with humanitarian aid will depart for Syria on Thursday.
Humanitarian aid from Athens municipalities and the Attica regional authority for Turkey and Syria have already filled 160 trucks, Deputy Foreign Affairs Minister Andreas Katsaniotis who also coordinates the humanitarian aid, announced on social media on Monday.
Νεα 🇬🇷 αποστολή ανθρωπιστικής προς τις πληγείσες περιοχές της 🇹🇷, αυτή τη φορά από το Σώμα Ελλήνων Προσκόπων – Πρόσκοποι Αθήνας. Στα τέλη της εβδομάδας αναχωρεί και 2η αποστολή από Θεσσαλονίκη @HellenicAid pic.twitter.com/jZ2kwuMbHi
— Andreas Katsaniotis (@katsaniotis) February 14, 2023
Public response to a call for humanitarian aid is immense, he added, noting that Athens municipality alone has collected enough food and pharmaceuticals to pack 1,000 boxes, and to pack another 2,000 boxes of clothes.
According to the aid collection plan, goods donated in Thessaloniki by regional authorities, municipalities, churches, schools and organizations in Thessaly and northern Greece will be transported by road to earthquake-afflicted areas in Turkey and Syria.
Goods donated from any other regions in the country will be collected in Athens and transported by ship.
The aid relates primarily to clothing (adults, children, and infants), beds and blankets, pharmaceuticals, tents and long-shelf-life foods.
The full catalogue of requested aid is available on Hellenic Aid of the Foreign Affairs Ministry . More information can be requested by email (aid@mfa.gr) or by calling 210-368-4035 and 210-368-4407.
The number of dead from the devastating earthquake on February 6, has exceeded 40,000, the number of those ho died in the rubble remains unknown in both turkey and Syria, so far. Over one million people in Turkey are homeless and even more in Syria.
