396 container homes from Qatar arrive in Türkiye for quake victims
Two ships carrying 396 container homes from Qatar arrived in Hatay province's Iskenderun port, Türkiye, March 4, 2023 (AA Photo)


Two ships carrying 396 container homes from Qatar arrived in Türkiye’s southern Hatay province on Saturday for the victims of the massive earthquakes that jolted the country last month.

As the ships anchored at Hatay’s Iskenderun port, Kırklareli Governor Birol Ekici told reporters they are making great efforts to restore the quake-hit region, highlighting Qatar’s ongoing support for Türkiye.

Pointing out the importance of the containers for returning life to normal in the region, Ekici said Qatar also had sent humanitarian aid and search and rescue teams.

"They have always supported us. I would like to thank our Qatari brothers for this," he added.

Qatar’s envoy in Ankara, Sheikh Mohammed bin Nasser bin Jassim Al-Thani said his country’s assistance to Türkiye and Syria, also hit by the quakes, will continue.

Upon Qatari Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani’s instructions, the nation has mobilized to dispatch the 10,000 containers specially manufactured for the World Cup hosted in the capital Doha last year to the disaster zone.

Qatari authorities are reportedly doing their best to deploy the remaining containers, which will arrive in either the Port of Iskenderun or Mersin to be distributed to the affected areas.

Türkiye, in the meantime, is working to bolster infrastructure in container towns and transfer displaced citizens in tent cities to these towns in line with their needs.

Sheikh Tamim became the first foreign leader to visit Türkiye after the earthquakes, meeting President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan in Istanbul and assuring his country would "mobilize all means" to help Türkiye.