75 personnel from the Special Malaysia Disaster Assistance and Rescue Team (SMART) have been deployed to the Republic of Türkiye last night in wake of the devastating back-to-back earthquakes.
The search and rescue task force -which included the Royal Medical Corps, a hazardous chemical materials special personnel and the Malaysian Fire and Rescue Department K9 Unit- will begin overseeing the aid relief on the affected zones once reached.
Just a few minutes before midnight, the team was sent off at KLIA by Foreign Minister Datuk Seri Dr Zambry Abdul Kadir. The task force is especially adept in a dozen of search and rescue efforts in the past, one of which included the 1999 Izmit earthquake (also in Türkiye).
It's also believed that the Malaysian government is working very closely with the republic to monitor the well-being of Malaysians residing there. No casualties have been reported so far.
We extend our heartfelt condolences to those affected by the disaster in Türkiye and Syria, and may the SAR operations be at ease to all those involved.