Norway’s ‘flying ambulance’ helps earthquake victims

In response to Turkey’s request for international assistance after the earthquakes in Kahramanmaraş, Norway sent the C-130J Hercules transport aircraft to Turkey to support evacuation efforts and transport relief.

The plane was claimed to have carried out its first medical evacuation mission on February 13 and 28 patients were evacuated to hospitals in Ankara via Adana airport.

The statement said this was coordinated through NATO’s Euro-Atlantic Disaster Response Coordination Center (EADRCC) in close cooperation with the Turkish authorities. This eases the pressure on first responders and aid organizations in the most affected areas of Turkey. Norway’s flying ambulance is serving alongside similar aircraft supplied by the Netherlands and the UK in response to Turkey’s request for international assistance. Norway has extensive experience in international medical evacuation operations. In recent months, specially equipped Norwegian military planes have been carrying out weekly medical evacuation flights to transport victims of the war in Ukraine to hospitals in Europe.