Following a catastrophic earthquake in Turkey that has claimed over 1,500 lives, Malaysia has deployed 70 personnel from three agencies to assist in the search and rescue (SAR) mission.

The personnel includes members of the elite Special Malaysia Disaster Assistance and Rescue Team (SMART), the HAZMAT unit, the K9 dog tracker unit, the Fire and Rescue Department, and the medical team from the Armed Forces Royal Medical Corps. They will participate in missions of search and rescue to locate disaster victims.

Foreign Minister Datuk Seri Dr. Zambry Abdul Kadir stated that Malaysia’s fast action in dispatching the rescue team was in response to a request from Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim on humanitarian grounds and because of Malaysia’s close ties with Turkey.  In the initial stages, search and rescue operations will be aided in the impacted areas. In addition, the squad will bring 10 tonnes of emergency equipment to assist in the SAR operations.