A total of twelve people injured by the earthquake in Turkey were taken on the first two flights of a Dutch defense aircraft. The Ministry of Defense reports that 69 family members also flew with them. The injured were taken to hospitals in the seaside resort of Antalya and the capital Ankara.
The C-130 Hercules transport plane will fly for the next two weeks to remove even more victims from the disaster area, a ministry spokesman said. The aircraft has been modified to be suitable for medical flights. There are two doctors and six nurses on board. There is room for up to seventy people.
Assessment
The detachment commander, Lieutenant Colonel Maurice Schonk, thinks this is a good result. ‘The help is greatly appreciated by the population.’ There are warnings in the region about fuel shortages, but the plane will not be affected, a defense spokesman said earlier. ‘There is only a fuel shortage in the disaster area. Regular airports in Turkey do not run out of fuel.’
More than 33,000 deaths have already been reported in southeastern Turkey and northern Syria. That number is likely to increase further. The United Nations expects the death toll to exceed 50,000.
Source: BNR
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