BAKU, Azerbaijan, February 13. Prime Minister of the Republic of Azerbaijan, Ali Asadov, and Vice President of the Republic of Türkiye, Fuat Oktay, held a phone conversation on February 13, TurkicWorld reports.

During the conversation, the progress of work to eliminate the consequences of a strong earthquake that occurred in the southeast of Türkiye was discussed. It was also noted that Azerbaijani rescuers continue to search and rescue operations in the disaster zone.

Fuat Oktay once again expressed his deep gratitude to the fraternal Azerbaijani state and people for the moral and humanitarian support provided to Türkiye from the first hours of the earthquake, for putting all the efforts into overcoming the consequences of this severe disaster, and for helping people who faced difficulties.

A 7.7-magnitude earthquake hit southeastern Türkiye on Feb. 6, 2023. The earthquake occurred at a depth of seven kilometers in the Pazarcik region of Kahramanmaras Province. The provinces of Hatay, Gaziantep, Kilis, Osmaniye, Malatya, Adiyaman, Sanliurfa, Diyarbakir, Adana, and Kahramanmaras were subjected to severe destruction.

The quake’s epicenter was located 26 km away from the city of Gaziantep with a population of about 1.06 million. Following the latest data, 31,643 people have been killed, and 80,278 have got injured in the quake.