Japan relief team in quake-hit Turkey to ramp up medical assistance

A Japanese relief team operating in earthquake-hit Turkey is set to shift its focus away from search and rescue efforts and toward medical assistance.

The 74-member team has been engaged in search and rescue efforts in the southern city of Kahramanmaras since last week.

Now that a week has passed since the quake, health concerns are growing among the injured and a number of evacuees.

Doctors and nurses from the Japanese relief team are preparing to launch a medical relief operation on Tuesday in the city of Gaziantep, where hospitals were damaged.

Minato Yusuke, a member of the team who will remain in Turkey for a while as part of the medical relief efforts, said he will continue providing support to those in need.

Yamamoto Hideaki, who led the Japanese rescue operation and is now set to leave the country, says that though his team's contribution may have been small, he is happy that it could provide support to people in Turkey.

Source: https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20230214_04/