Earthquake: RMAF on standby to dispatch humanitarian aid to Syria on Feb 18

KUALA LUMPUR: Two Royal Malaysian Air Force (RMAF) A400M aircraft are on standby to fly to the Damascus International Airport in Syria to dispatch humanitarian aid on Saturday (Feb 18).

In a statement today, the Foreign Ministry said the Special Recce Team, accompanied by 20 representatives from various government agencies and non-governmental organisations (NGOs), left for Syria yesterday (Feb 14) to establish close contact with the local authorities and identify safe routes for humanitarian assistance missions from Malaysia.

Members of the public wishing to donate essential items are to send them to the collection centres at the National Disaster Management Agency (NADMA) and the Malaysian Red Crescent Society (MCRS) at the following addresses:

(NADMA) Markas SMART, NADMA Malaysia, Jalan Pulau Meranti, 47120 Puchong, Selangor;

(MCRS) Lot PT54, Lengkok Belfield, off Jalan Wisma Putra, Kg Attap, 50460 Kuala Lumpur.

The ministry also welcomes the public, corporate groups, business corporations and NGOs to channel donations through the Tabung Bencana Kementerian Luar Negeri (TBKLN).

Donations can be made through:

Account Name: Tabung Bencana Kementerian Luar Negeri

Bank Name: Affin Islamic Bank Berhad, Cawangan Putrajaya

Account Number: 1054 9000 0599

For record and receipt purposes, contributors should state donation details via https://tinyurl.com/yck9tnen. Any inquiries on TBKLN may be forwarded to tbkln@kln.gov.my. Contributions made are eligible for income tax exemption under Subsection 44(6) of the Income Tax Act (ACP) 1967.

On Feb 6, an earthquake with a magnitude of 7.8 on the Ritcher scale hit southern Turkiye and Syria. As of Feb 13, the death toll in Turkiye was reported to have reached 31,644, with another 106,428 people injured, while in Syria, 5,329 have died and 14,500 injured.

As of yesterday, the Malaysian SAR team had successfully brought out 47 bodies from under the rubble and rescued a family of five.

-- BERNAMA