The government sent a 46-member rescue team led by Bangladesh Army to Turkey for post-earthquake rescue operations and assistance.
The team consists of a 24-member medium rescue team from the army, a 10-member medical team and 12 members from the fire service and civil defence. The rescue team is led by Bangladesh Army's Lt Col Md Ruhul Amin, PSC.
They left for Turkey by a Bangladesh Air Force C-130J transport aircraft at 10pm on Wednesday night.
According to Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), the Bangladeshi rescue team will operate a special flight on the Dhaka-Ankara-Dhaka route to send post-earthquake emergency relief and medical supplies to Turkey.
After the relief material reaches Turkey, the plane will return to Bangladesh on February 15.
The rescue team will conduct search and rescue operations and medical assistance among the people of Turkey for post-earthquake relief.
Following the deadly earthquake, governments around the world were quick to respond to requests for international assistance in Turkey and Syria, deploying rescue teams and offering aid.
Now, Bangladesh is also set to join the list, State Minister for Foreign Affairs Shahriar Alam told Dhaka Tribune.
On Monday, President M Abdul Hamid offered all possible assistance from the government and people of Bangladesh, saying: “Bangladesh Government and its people are always by the side of the disaster victims of Turkey and Syria.”
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina also expressed deep shock at the casualties of people and said that the government and people of Bangladesh are standing by the side of Turkey and Syria during this crisis.
Sheikh Hasina also assured all kinds of cooperation on behalf of her government and wished for the quick recovery of the injured.
Families in southern Turkey and Syria spent a second night in the freezing cold on Wednesday as overwhelmed rescuers raced to pull people from the rubble two days after a massive earthquake that killed 11,236.
Rescuers in Turkey and Syria dug with their bare hands have been hunting for survivors among the rubble of thousands of buildings felled in a series of violent earthquakes - already Turkey's deadliest since 1999 - that hit in the early hours of Monday.
