In response to the earthquakes in the region, Luxembourg sent a charter flight of equipment to Turkey on Wednesday. A second flight will follow at a later date.

The Directorate for Development Cooperation and Humanitarian Action of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs has contributed 8,000 sleeping bags, 2,000 hygiene kits, and 12 electricity generators worth a total of €500,000.

The transport costs of in-kind donations collected by the Turkish Embassy in Luxembourg were also covered.

These in-kind donations provided by the Ministry of Health and the Federation of Luxembourg Hospitals (FHL) include 236 pallets of medical equipment, including surgical masks, compresses, syringes, etc, with a total value of €250,000.

The Luxembourgish company B Medical Systems, a global manufacturer and distributor of high-quality medical devices, has also donated 50 transport boxes for medicines and blood infusions.

A first charter flight operated by Cargolux took off on Wednesday morning, with a second charter flight planned "at a later date."

Luxembourg provided immediate emergency aid to the affected populations as soon as the earthquakes occurred. The Luxembourgish Cooperation is contributing a total of nearly €1 million to support the humanitarian operations of several partners active in Turkey and Syria, including the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) and the Luxembourg humanitarian NGOs Handicap International Luxembourg, Care in Luxembourg, and the Caritas Foundation.

More than 42,000 people died in Turkey alone as a result of the 6 February earthquake. Including the victims from neighbouring Syria, the death toll rises to nearly 46,000.

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