3d Turkish plane carrying search, rescue teams, aid supplies headed to Libya following severe storm, flooding

By Muhammed Enes Calli

ISTANBUL (AA) - A third Turkish plane carrying search and rescue teams and humanitarian survival supplies has left for Libya to aid in the aftermath of a severe storm and devastating floods, the Turkish National Defense Ministry said Tuesday

"We continue to deliver search and rescue teams and aid supplies to the friendly and brotherly country Libya," the ministry said.

More than 3,000 people have died and many others remain unaccounted for after floods caused by Storm Daniel struck eastern Libya, according to Othman Abdul Jalil, health minister of the parliament-appointed government.

The International Federation of the Red Cross and Red Crescent on Monday put the figure of missing in the floods’ wake at 10,000.

Torrential rains from the powerful cyclone swept several areas of eastern Libya on Sunday, most notably the cities of Benghazi, Al Bayda and Al-Marj, as well as Soussa and Derna.

Abdul Hamid Dbeibeh, the head of Libya’s Tripoli-based unity government, declared all areas exposed to the storm and flood disaster zones.

Authorities declared a state of emergency, which included suspending classes at all public and private educational institutions and closing shops, and called for international support.