Minister of Defense Ehud Barak has instructed the military establishment to fly out special assistance to Turkey. The order comes in the wake of the earthquake that struck Eastern Turkey on Sunday, and after Israel received a request for aid from the Turkish authorities.
Until today, Turkey had refused international assistance. Senior officials in the Turkish Foreign Ministry yesterday told "Reuters" that the country had received dozens of offers of help from various countries including Israel but had rejected all of them.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu yesterday phoned Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan to express his condolences over the tragedy and again offer assistance.
The death toll in the earthquake has reached 217 with over 1,000 injured. Estimates are that some 800 people are still trapped in the rubble and the fear is that most of them are already dead.
Published by Globes, Israel business news - www.globes-online.com - on October 25, 2011
© Copyright of Globes Publisher Itonut (1983) Ltd. 2011