MOSCOW, February 9. /TASS/. Russian servicemen assisting the post-earthquake search and rescue effort in Syria have pulled 47 people from the rubble over the past three days, Deputy Head of the Russian Center for the Reconciliation of the Opposing Sides in Syria Maj. Gen. Oleg Yegorov said on Thursday.

"A total of 47 people have been rescued from the rubble since February 6, 2023. Medical assistance was provided to 225 Syrians. Distribution of 38.5 metric tons of humanitarian assistance (food kits and essentials) has been organized," he said.

Russian servicemen continue to participate in the post-disaster relief operations in the Syrian provinces of Latakia, Aleppo and Hama.

A powerful 7.7-magnitude earthquake rocked Turkey’s Kahramanmaras province, located in the country’s southeast, on February 6. The tremors, followed by hundreds of aftershocks, were felt in ten provinces as well as in neighboring countries, including Syria. The latest reports say that over 17,000 people have lost their lives in Turkey and about 72,000 have been injured. According to the Syrian Health Ministry, the devastating quake has left 1,347 people dead in the already war-ravaged Middle Eastern country, with the number of those injured exceeding 2,200.