THE second Special Malaysia Disaster Assistance and Rescue Team (SMART) deployed to Turkey safely arrived at Istanbul Airport at 6am local time.

The arrival of the second rescue team, under the supervision of the National Disaster Management Agency (Nadma), was greeted by the Malaysian ambassador to Turkey Sazali Mustafa Kamal.

The team, consisting of 72 people from SMART and the Malaysian Fire and Rescue Department (JBPM), left for Turkey at midnight last night on a Turkish Airline flight to participate in the search and rescue (SAR) mission for earthquake victims in the country.

Also joining the team were three members of the media – two from Bernama and a cameraman from RTM.

The team is scheduled to take a second flight to Gaziantep, which is 1,136km from Istanbul.

On February 6, Malaysia sent the first SMART team, comprising a medical team from the Royal Health Corps and the K9 unit of JBPM, and a special hazardous chemical (hazmat) team, to assist the earthquake SAR mission in southern Turkey as a sign of solidarity.

A strong quake with a magnitude of 7.8 on the Richter scale hit southern Turkey and north-western Syria on Monday, claiming thousands of lives in both countries. The effects of the earthquake were also reported to be felt in Cyprus and Lebanon.

The death toll from the devastating earthquake in Turkey and Syria has surpassed 16,000.

On Tuesday, Turkiye declared a three-month state of emergency in 10 provinces – Adana, Adıyaman, Diyarbakir, Gaziantep, Hatay, Kahramanmaras, Kilis, Malatya, Osmaniye and Sanliurf – to ensure the smooth running of search and rescue missions. – Bernama, February 9, 2023.