Chinese aid plane arrives in quake-hit Syria with medical supplies

Medical supplies donated by the Red Cross Society of China (RCSC) are unloaded in Damascus, capital of Syria, Feb. 9, 2023. (Photo by Ammar Safarjalani/Xinhua)

DAMASCUS, Feb. 10 (Xinhua) -- A plane carrying emergency medical supplies from China arrived Thursday in Syria to help the country in the aftermath of a deadly earthquake.

The plane, belonging to the Red Cross Society of China (RCSC), landed at the Damascus international airport Thursday evening.

The Syrian Arab Red Crescent (SARC) received the shipment at the airport with Chinese Ambassador Shi Hongwei present.

Shi expressed confidence that Syria will overcome the catastrophic impact of the quake, saying that China stands with Syria in dealing with the disaster.

On Thursday evening, Syria's Health Minister Hassan al-Ghabbash said the death toll from the earthquake rose to 1,347 and the number of injured to 2,295.

The minister called on the United Nations, the International Committee of the Red Cross, and other international organizations to provide assistance to Syria to deal with the disaster.

After strong earthquakes jolted Türkiye and Syria on Monday, the RCSC has provided the Turkish Red Crescent and the Syrian Red Crescent with 200,000 U.S. dollars in cash respectively as emergency humanitarian assistance.

The RCSC said it will remain updated on the humanitarian needs in the disaster-stricken areas of the two countries and pledged to offer humanitarian aid to the best of its ability.