ISTANBUL 

Japan will send a second rescue and search team and more humanitarian aid to earthquake-hit Türkiye, the country’s Foreign Ministry said on Tuesday.

“The government of Japan will dispatch the second half of the Japan Disaster Relief (JDR) Urban Search and Rescue Team to Türkiye,” the ministry said in a statement.

Tokyo had dispatched the first rescue and search team and humanitarian aid on Monday night to join relief operations in the wake of the devastating earthquake that hit 10 southern provinces of Türkiye.

“Japan will continue to further assess the damage on the ground and consider necessary assistance based on the needs of the Turkish government,” said the ministry.

Türkiye has declared a three-month-long state of emergency in 10 provinces jolted by earthquakes.

A 7.7 magnitude tremor early Monday struck the Pazarcik district of Kahramanmaras province, then about nine hours later, a 7.6 magnitude quake centered in Kahramanmaras’s Elbistan district rocked the region, affecting several other provinces, including Adana, Adiyaman, Diyarbakir, Gaziantep, Hatay, Kilis, Malatya, Osmaniye, and Sanliurfa.

The earthquake was also felt in several countries in the region, including Syria and Lebanon.

"We are facing one of the biggest disasters not only of the history of the Turkish Republic but also of our geography and the world," Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said.

At least 3,549 people were killed and 22,168 others injured in 10 provinces after two strong earthquakes, according to the president.

"Our biggest relief is that over 8,000 of our citizens have been rescued from the rubble so far," Erdogan said.

Türkiye also issued a level 4 alarm, which includes a call for international aid.