Russian first responders take off for Turkey, Syria

ZHUKOVSKY. Feb 6 (Interfax) - Airplanes of the Russian Emergency Situations Ministry with first responders on board have taken off from Zhukovsky International Airport and set off for Turkey and Syria to provide assistance in the mitigation of the effects of a major earthquake.

Three airplanes are heading to Adana, Turkey, and another one is bound for Syria. First Deputy Emergency Situations Minister Alexander Chupriyan is among the ministry's employees on board the planes, an Interfax correspondent reported on Monday.

Earlier on Monday morning, Russian Emergency Situations Minister Alexander Kurenkov ordered 100 specialists from the ministry's State Central Airmobile Rescue Team and Leader Center for High Risk Rescue Operations to go to regions hit by the earthquake.

A major earthquake caused numerous victims and extensive damage in southern Turkey and northern Syria early on Monday morning. The death toll in Turkey is currently almost 1,500, Anadolu Agency reported. Approximately 8,300 people have been injured in the earthquake in the country, it said. In Syria, the disaster has left at least 850 people dead and more than 2,300 injured, Al Arabiya television said.