Aid campaign launched in Berlin for quake-hit Türkiye

By Erbil Basay

BERLIN (AA) – An aid campaign was launched Monday in the German capital Berlin after two powerful earthquakes struck southern Türkiye, leaving thousands dead and injured and causing massive destruction.

Organized by various Turkish non-governmental organizations in the city, volunteers began collecting materials and items such as diapers, clothing and blankets, which are urgently needed for those affected.

Aid materials brought to the Berlin Turkish Music Conservatory in Kreuzberg district will be delivered to the earthquake zone as soon as possible.

In a statement to Anadolu, one of the aid volunteers, Zuleyha Kafkas Ozturk, said they were deeply saddened by the earthquakes, adding: "People in Berlin have been mobilizing to help since the morning."

Blankets, overalls, winter clothes, gloves, boots and children's food were needed the most, Ozturk added.

She stressed that they aim to deliver the collected materials to the earthquake zone "as soon as possible."

At least 2,379 people were killed and 14,483 others were injured in 10 provinces of Türkiye due to two strong earthquakes that jolted the southern part of the country Monday, said Vice President Fuat Oktay.

Early Monday morning, a powerful magnitude 7.7 earthquake struck Pazarcik district of Kahramanmaras province and strongly shook several other provinces, including Gaziantep, Sanliurfa, Diyarbakir, Adana, Adiyaman, Malatya, Osmaniye, Hatay and Kilis.

Then at 13.24 p.m. (1024GMT), a 7.6 magnitude quake centered in Kahramanmaras’s Elbistan district struck the region.