Turkey voices readiness to provide aid for quake-hit China

ISTANBUL, April 14 (Xinhua) -- The Turkish Red Crescent said on Wednesday it was ready to offer aid to China after a strong earthquake struck northwest China's Qinghai Province.

In a letter sent to the Chinese Red Cross, President of Turkish Red Crescent Tekin Kucukali expressed the Red Crescent's willingness to provide any assistance needed and extended the condolences of the Turkish people.

A crisis management unit has already been created to address the issue, and a cargo plane full of emergency supplies, as well as a four-person expert disaster and logistical team are on standby, according to the letter.

"The Red Crescent was similarly prepared for Chile and Haiti," Ayberk Yurtsever of the Turkish Red Cross told Xinhua, adding that the Turkish Red Crescent sent aid to Haiti on the day of its earthquake in January.

At least 400 people were killed and 10,000 others injured after the 7.1-magnitude quake hit the Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture of Yushu, which lies on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau at an altitude above 4,000 meters.

The strong quake and a string of aftershocks, with the biggest one being 6.3 magnitude, toppled houses, temples, gas stations and electric poles, triggered landslides, damaged roads, cut power supplies and disrupted telecommunications, according to local reports.