SOME rescue teams has departured from China to Türkiye and Syria to participate in relief efforts after two strong earthquakes jolted parts of the two nations.

Chinese President Xi Jinping on Monday sent messages of condolence to Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Syrian President Bashar al-Assad respectively over strong earthquakes in the two countries.

In response to a request from the Türkiye government, China has sent a rescue team consisting of 82 people. It departed Beijing Capital International Airport at around 4 p.m. yesterday.

It was dispatched by the Ministry of Emergency Management and consists of specialists from the Beijing Fire and Rescue Administration, the National Earthquake Response Support Service and the Emergency General Hospital.

The Red Cross Society of China (RCSC) has decided to provide the Turkish Red Crescent and the Syrian Red Crescent with US$200,000 cash respectively as emergency humanitarian assistance.

Chen Zhu, president of the RCSC, sent his letters of sympathy to the Turkish Red Crescent and the Syrian Red Crescent.

A Chinese non-governmental rescue team set off from an east China airport yesterday morning to join earthquake relief efforts in Türkiye.

The team of eight earthquake relief experts from the Rescue Team of Ramunion, based in Hangzhou, capital of Zhejiang Province, is expected to arrive in earthquake-stricken areas in Türkiye this afternoon.

He Jun, captain of the team, said before departure that they would use advanced radar life detectors, demolition and rescue equipment, and a search and rescue dog for the mission.

“After arrival, we will cooperate with local teams and other international rescue forces, to rescue life from rubble as quickly as possible,” He said.

Founded in 2008, Ramunion is a professional rescue team specializing in emergency response to disasters and accidents. Its members have taken part in a total of 287 international and domestic rescue missions.

(Xinhua, China Daily)