2 Bangladeshi teams likely to join rescue efforts in Turkey

Bangladesh is planning to send two emergency teams to join rescue operation in earthquake-stricken Turkey.

"We are planning to send two teams -- an emergency medical team and a rescue team -- to Turkey," foreign ministry Spokesperson Seheli Sabrin told The Daily Star.

Yesterday, President M Abdul Hamid offered all possible assistance from the government and people of Bangladesh, saying: "Bangladesh Government and its people are always by the side of the disaster victims of Turkey and Syria."

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina also expressed deep shock at the casualties and said the government and people of Bangladesh are standing by Turkey and Syria during this crisis

Rescuers in Turkey and Syria braved freezing darkness, aftershocks and collapsing buildings today, as they dug for survivors buried by a string of earthquakes that killed at least 5,000 people.