Blinken visits Turkey quake zone; pledges $100m in aid

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken has visited Hatay, one of the provinces worst affected by the February 6 earthquake in southern Turkey and northern Syria, and pledged a further $100m in aid to help the region.

The visit came as the country ended rescue efforts in all provinces except the two hardest hit by the massive quake that killed tens of thousands of people, the disaster agency said on Sunday.

“In many of our provinces, search and rescue efforts have been completed. They continue in Kahramanmaras and Hatay provinces,” the agency’s chief Yunus Sezer told reporters in Ankara.

There had been abundant media coverage of rescue teams finding survivors, but it has now slowed down with no survivors found in at least 24 hours.

US President Joe Biden announced $85m for Turkey and Syria days after the earthquake, which has killed more than 46,000 people in the two countries. The US has also sent a search-and-rescue team, medical supplies and equipment.

“This is going to be a long-term effort,” Blinken said on Sunday at Incirlik Air Base, a joint US-Turkish facility that has coordinated the distribution of disaster aid. “The search and rescue, unfortunately, is coming to an end. The recovery is on and then there will be a massive rebuilding operation.”

The additional aid includes $50m in emergency refugee and migration funds and $50m in humanitarian assistance, Blinken said.

The secretary of state is making his first trip to NATO ally Turkey since he took office on January 26, 2021.

Blinken arrived on Sunday after attending the Munich Security Conference in Germany.