Türkiye thanks Algeria for aid to earthquake victims

ALGIERS, Algeria

Turkish Ambassador to Algeria Mahinur Oezdemir Goktas thanked Algeria for helping the victims of the two deadly earthquakes in Tükiye.

This came during a meeting between Goktas and Algerian Interior Minister Ibrahim Murad late Tuesday in the capital Algiers.

"I thanked the Algerian minister for his country's solidarity with Tükiye and support for those affected by the earthquakes," the diplomat said.

The Turkish envoy said Algeria was at the forefront of countries providing aid to Tükiye in the immediate aftermath of the earthquakes.

For his part, the Algerian minister said his country's efforts on behalf of earthquake victims in Tükiye were a "duty of brotherhood".

He expressed his deep condolences to Tükiye for the victims of the earthquake disaster.

Algeria has sent a search and rescue team with 86 people and 95 tons of humanitarian aid to Tükiye. The Arab country also announced that it would send $30 million in aid to Tükiye after the earthquakes.

The country's disaster management agency said Tuesday that at least 42,310 people were killed in two powerful earthquakes that struck southern Tükiye on Feb. 6.

The 7.7- and 7.6-magnitude quakes, which occurred in Kahramanmaras province, affected more than 13 million people in 11 provinces, including Adana, Adiyaman, Diyarbakir, Gaziantep, Hatay, Kilis, Malatya, Osmaniye, Elazig and Sanliurfa.

*Ikram Imane Kouachi contributed to this report.