Prime minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday became emotional over the devastating earthquakes in Turkey and Syria, and recalled the 2001 Bhuj earthquake that claimed over 20,000 lives and left over 1,50,000 people injured in Gujarat, reported news agency ANI.
Read here: Turkey-Syria Earthquake LIVE: Death toll surpasses-5,000 mark
PM Modi was addressing Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) parliamentarians at a meeting ahead of the start of today’s parliament proceedings. In the meeting, he recalled the deadly Bhuj earthquake and spoke about the challenges faced during the rescue operations.
Narendra Modi was the chief minister of the state in 2001. The PM said that he could very well relate to what Turkey is going through right now.
In 2001, a massive earthquake jolted Gujarat’s Bhuj. Over 20,000 people lost their lives and over 1.5 lakh people were left injured. The epicenter was 20 km north-east of Bhuj in Kutch district. The earthquake was so devastating tremors were felt in parts of central and northern India, in New Delhi and Mumbai, as well as Chennai and Pondicherry and in Calcutta.
PM Modi also spoke about the humanitarian aid being provided by India to Turkey after five earthquakes – the biggest of 7.8 magnitude – jolted Turkey and Syria over two days.
Around 5,000 deaths have been confirmed and thousands have been injured, according to news agency Reuters. India has deployed a C-17 aircraft with over 50 personnel from the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), search-and-rescue personnel, dog squads, medicines and other relief material. Two more C-17 aircraft with Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief (HADR) with 60 medical personnel will be sent, the report said.
Read here: NDRF teams, dog squad, medical crew onboard India’s C-17 flights for Turkey
The Turkish Embassy in New Delhi tweeted, “First batch of earthquake relief material along with NDRF’s special search and rescue teams and trained dog squads just arrived in Turkiye. Thank you India for your support and solidarity.”