ANKARA / ISTANBUL

Türkiye’s disaster agency on Wednesday delivered to Afghanistan some 25 tons of humanitarian aid supplies to people affected by last weekend’s earthquake.

Following the 6.0 magnitude earthquake that struck the eastern province of Kunar in Afghanistan late Sunday, Türkiye was asked to provide assistance.

In response to the call, humanitarian aid supplies prepared in coordination with the Turkish Foreign Ministry, Disaster and Emergency Management Agency (AFAD), and the Turkish Red Crescent were delivered to the region by a Turkish Air Force A400M aircraft which departed from Erkilet Airport in Kayseri.

Seyfettin Karabulut, the head of AFAD's International Humanitarian Aid Department, who led the team tasked with delivering the aid supplies to the Afghan city of Jalalabad, said Kunar was the province most affected by the earthquake.

Karabulut said that, according to local authorities, 1,457 people lost their lives and more than 3,000 were injured in the quake.

Explaining that humanitarian aid supplies were prepared in response to Afghanistan's emergency appeal, Karabulut said that thanks to the coordination between the relevant units of the Turkish Presidency and the ministries of Interior, Foreign Affairs, and National Defense, the supplies were dispatched from Kayseri to Jalalabad in the morning.

"Approximately 25 tons of humanitarian aid supplies, made up of shelter materials, hygiene kits, and food boxes, which are urgently needed in the region, have been delivered to the Afghan Red Crescent. The emergency humanitarian aid materials we delivered to the region will be distributed to those in need in the region in cooperation with the Afghan Red Crescent and the Turkish Red Crescent," he added.