S. Korea mulls sending KC-330 tanker transport aircraft to assist quake-hit Turkey

▲ This file photo, taken Oct. 14, 2019, shows the South Korean military's KC-330 tanker aircraft, KF-16 and F-15K fighter jets flying above Seongnam, south of Seoul, to mark the Seoul International Aerospace & Defense Exhibition 2019. (Yonhap)

S Korea-Turkey quake

S. Korea mulls sending KC-330 tanker transport aircraft to assist quake-hit Turkey

SEOUL, Feb. 7 (Yonhap) -- South Korea's military is considering sending a KC-330 military tanker transport aircraft along with rescue workers to Turkey to assist the country in the aftermath of this week's devastating earthquake, according to officials Tuesday.

Earlier in the day, President Yoon Suk Yeol ordered the government to quickly send rescue workers and medical supplies to the country after a 7.8 magnitude earthquake struck its southern region and Syria the previous day, killing more than 4,000 people in both nations combined.

The military is reviewing sending the aircraft capable of making a nonstop flight to the country, along with emergency response personnel, according to the officials.

South Korea's military mobilized the aircraft in past emergency humanitarian assistance operations, including the humanitarian mission in 2021 to evacuate nearly 400 Afghan co-workers and family members to South Korea.

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