Turkey presents state medals to rescue teams for quake efforts

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Tuesday presented state medals to 55,000 personnel from local and foreign rescue teams for their contributions to the rescue and relief efforts after the massive earthquakes in February, reported Xinhua.

"Today, we will present medals to domestic and foreign search and rescue teams who made sacrifices during the quakes on Feb. 6," Erdogan said at the presentation ceremony held in the capital Ankara.

Erdogan said 11,320 personnel from 90 countries came to Turkey to join the rescue and relief efforts in the wake of the quakes, and 60 countries and international organizations sent nearly 250,000 tents to Turkey.

The catastrophic quakes, which jolted southern Turkey on Feb. 6, have claimed more than 50,000 lives, damaging thousands of buildings and leaving tens of thousands of people homeless.