18th Saudi relief plane with medical equipment for quake victims reaches Turkey

The 18th Saudi relief plane arrived in Turkey, carrying more than 32 tons of medical equipment and devices for the victims of the catastrophic earthquake that struck the country this February, the official Saudi Press Agency (SPA) reported on Sunday.

The shipment, part of the Saudi relief package from King Salman Humanitarian Aid and Relief Center (KSrelief), will provide assistance to those adversely affected by the two big earthquakes that jolted Turkey and Syria on the morning of February 6.

KSrelief works under the directives of Saudi King Salman bin Abdulaziz and Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.

More than 40,000 people were killed, hundreds of thousands injured and dozens of buildings were levelled, as a powerful 7.8 magnitude earthquake struck the region, followed by several aftershocks.

Even six months after the quake, many continue to be in dire need of aid.

As part of its humanitarian outreach, KSrelief has provided Ankara and Damascus with significant support in the days following the quake. While on-the-ground assistance and urgent aid were provided to the victims in the Syrian town of Jandris, teams of volunteers in the Turkish city of Gaziantep provided medical care to 1,051 people.