Fenerbahçe step up with aid toward quake-ravaged Kahramanmaraş
Search and rescue work is being carried out in the wreckage with the support of soldiers, Coast Guard Command teams, AKUT and citizens, Iskenderun, Türkiye, Feb. 6, 2023. (AA Photo)


Türkiye's Fenerbahçe have pledged their commitment to the relief efforts in the wake of the devastating 7.6 magnitude earthquake that brought tragedy to both Turkey and Syria Monday, leaving over 1,200 people dead.

The club is vowing to do all they can to help those affected by the disaster in this time of need.

President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said the earthquake, with the epicenter located in the southern Kahramanmaraş province, has resulted in more than 1000 deaths in Türkiye alone, while Syria's state news agency put the toll there at 320.

Erdoğan also put the wounded total at 5,383 but both figures continue to rise, with the Kandilli observatory and earthquake research center recording over 100 aftershocks.

"About 53 of them over four (on the Richter scale)," Dr. Haluk Ozener is quoted as saying by the BBC.

Adana and Gaziantep – the latter being only 20 miles (32 kilometers) from the epicenter – are among the major cities hit by the quake, which was also felt as far away as Cyprus.

Istanbul-based Fenerbahçe, one of Türkiye's biggest football clubs, are in talks to help in the relief effort as they look to mobilize their members, who they say form the biggest organization of its kind in the country.

"We stand with our country," read a statement on social media.

"Our club is getting ready to take steps after the earthquake disaster, which was felt in many cities, especially in Kahramanmaraş."

As Türkiye's largest 'civil society organization,' Fenerbahçe Sports Club, which has stood by its country and its citizens, has immediately started to work to take the most beneficial steps in the face of today's national disaster.

Fellow Turkish giants Galatasaray published a list of required items and asked for donations to be handed in at the Ali Sami Yen Sports Complex, with sleeping bags, thermal blankets and baby food among the requested supplies.