Turkey seeks assistance from Bangladesh

The earthquake-ravaged Turkey has sought food and medicine assistance from Bangladesh, asking to not send cash directly.

Turkish ambassador to Dhaka, Mustafa Osman Turan, came up with this request at a press conference on Thursday evening at his office in Dhaka.

He said, "Nearly 6,000 buildings were affected. We want assistance from Bangladesh to deal with the crisis."

Mustafa Osman said the government of Bangladesh responded promptly in this earthquake. The president, prime minister and the foreign minister conveyed condolences to Turkey with the hoist of national flag half-mast to commemorate the victims. For this, "We will be grateful forever," he added.        

He said, "We want to take assistance from Bangladesh. You (Bangladesh) can provide winter clothes, medicine and dry food to us. The Turkish Cooperation and Coordination Agency (TIKA) will receive the products and send them to Turkey."

The ambassador said TIKA will not receive any cash assistance since they don't have any bank accounts in the country. 

AFP reports

Freezing temperatures deepened the misery Thursday for survivors of a massive earthquake in Turkey and Syria that killed more than 16,000 people, as rescuers raced to save countless people still trapped under rubble.

The death toll from Monday's 7.8-magnitude quake is expected to rise sharply as rescue efforts pass the 72-hour mark that disaster experts consider the most likely period to save lives.