Countries worldwide send rescue teams and offers of aid

— Countries around the world mobilized rapidly to send aid and rescue workers on Monday after a massive earthquake killed more than 5,000 people in Turkey and Syria.

Offers of assistance came from countries across the world. Here are some of the chief pledges of support.

The European Union has mobilized 10 search and rescue teams for Turkey after the stricken country requested EU assistance, EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell and EU crisis management commissioner Janez Lenarcic said.

The EU’s Copernicus satellite system has been activated to provide emergency mapping services, it said adding the bloc was ready to support those affected in Syria too.

U.S. President Joe Biden said he was “deeply saddened” by the loss of life.

U.S. teams were “deploying quickly to begin to support Turkish search and rescue efforts,” he added.

National security spokesman John Kirby said the United States was sending two search-and-rescue teams of 79 people each, while the Pentagon and USAID were coordinating with their Turkish counterparts.

The U.N. General Assembly observed a minute of silence in tribute to the victims.

“Our teams are on the ground assessing the needs and providing assistance.

We count on the international community to help the thousands of families hit by this disaster, many of whom were already in dire need of humanitarian aid in areas where access is a challenge,” U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said.

Two of India’s National Disaster Response Force teams comprising 100 personnel with dog squads and equipment were ready to be flown to the affected area, the foreign ministry said. Doctors and paramedics with medicines were also being readied.

President Vladimir Putin promised to send Russian teams to both countries in telephone calls with Syria’s Bashar al-Assad and Turkey’s Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

“In the nearest hours, rescuers from the Russian emergency ministry will take off for Syria,” the Kremlin said. The defense ministry said 300 military personnel deployed in Syria were helping with the clear-up effort.

Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he had approved the sending of aid to Syria — whose government does not recognize Israel — after receiving a request through diplomatic channels.

The government will also send humanitarian assistance to Turkey, he said.

However, a Damascus official denied they had requested help in the first place.