Two Il-76 aircraft of the Russian emergency ministry will deliver 70 tons of food as humanitarian aid to residents of Syria, which suffered from an earthquake, the ministry's press service told TASS on Friday.
"The Russian emergency ministry's aircraft will deliver humanitarian aid to Syria. There are 70 tons of food for the citizens of the Syrian Arab Republic on board two Il-76 planes of the Russian EMERCOM," the press service said.
The EMERCOM added that the first aircraft with humanitarian cargo flew from Zhukovsky airport to Syria. The second plane is ready to take off in the next few hours. The humanitarian aid will be delivered to the residents of Syria by the order of Russian President Vladimir Putin. "The aircraft of the Russian MES aircraft carry food and necessities: sugar, flour, vegetable oil, sets of dishes, tents, mattresses, warm blankets and mobile power plants," the press service added.
The 7.7 and 7.6 magnitude earthquakes occurred 9 hours apart in Kahramanmaras province in southeastern Turkey on Monday. The tremors, followed by hundreds of aftershocks, were felt in 10 provinces of the country and neighboring countries, including Syria. The main shock was felt in the Syrian provinces of Aleppo, Latakia, Tartous and Hama in the west and northwest of the country. According to the information of the ministry of health of the SAR, more than 1.3 thousand people were killed by the earthquake in the republic, the number of injured exceeded 2.2 thousand.
GSV "Russia - Islamic World"
Photo: Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation
Based on materials TASS