China's rescue team returns after completing Turkiye mission

China's rescue team, together with rescuers from Hong Kong, left Turkiye on Thursday night local time after completing its mission in Turkiye's earthquake zone, according to the Ministry of Emergency Management.

Before their departure, the 82-member team donated relief supplies to survivors of the devastating earthquakes that rocked almost 10 provinces in the southern part of Turkiye last week, as well as some areas in its neighbor Syria.

Foodstuff, water, hygienic materials, clothes, blankets, and 12 big tents were among the donation, the ministry said.

A small handover ceremony was held in the camp of the team in the Antakya district of the Hatay province, the worst affected region.

The Chinese team leader provided detailed information about the supplies to the officials of Turkiye's Disaster and Emergency Management Authority. The Chinese and Turkish sides later signed the required papers and shook hands.

"The Chinese team came from far away and helped us. Thank you very much for sharing our pain," Xinhua News Agency quoted an unnamed AFAD officer as saying.

China's search and rescue team arrived in Turkiye on Feb 8 with four rescue dogs and over 20 metric tons of equipment, including life detectors.

The team freed six survivors in a week, and also pulled 11 bodies from the rubble. In total, they combed over 700,000 square meters in their rescue operation, according to the ministry.