Humanitarian supplies donated by Their Majesties the King and Queen have been sent to Turkey on a Royal Thai Air Force (RTAF) Airbus A340-500 that will also bring Thai nationals in Turkey back home.
The aircraft left Military Air Terminal 2 of the RTAF's Wing 6 at Don Muang air base at 11.20pm on Wednesday and was due to return to the airport at 9.10pm on Thursday, air force spokesman AVM Prapas Sornchaidee said on Wednesday.
Earlier on Wednesday, Privy Councillor Chirayu Isarangkun Na Ayuthaya, who was assigned by Their Majesties to hand over the supplies to Serap Ersoy, the Turkish ambassador to Thailand, formally presented them to him at the airbase.
The supplies, including small-sized mobile generators, cold weather sleeping bags, large-sized tents, dried food, milk and drinking water, were later flown to Turkey.
Lerpong Suansang, the head of the urban search and rescue team, also known as Usar Thailand, flew to Turkey recently to join the international search operation.
He said on Wednesday was the team's last day as part of the huge operation and team members would arrive back in Thailand on Saturday.
Although search and rescue operations by some other teams will continue, most of the international rescue teams have stopped operations as Turkey transitions from the search and rescue phase to one of rehabilitation, he said.
The Usar Thailand team, in cooperation with PTT Plc and the Department of Disaster Prevention and Mitigation, has been in Adiyaman in southeastern Turkey since Feb 9, said Auttapol Rerkpiboon, president and CEO of PTT Plc.
NPC Safety and Environmental Service Co, a subsidiary of PTT Global Chemical, which specialises in disaster rescues, along with rescue volunteers at PTT Group SEALs, a club at PTT Plc, represented the company in the Turkey rescue efforts, he said.
The team was fully equipped with search and rescue gear that included gas, thermal and motion detectors, he said.
The operation was partially sponsored by donations made to PTT Plc's Power for Sustainable Future Foundation.
Usar Thailand along with its K9 (canine) rescue dog on Wednesday ended its search efforts in Hatay and was preparing to return to Thailand, said a source.
The team will leave Turkey tomorrow before arriving home on Saturday.
Other rescue teams from Australia, Germany and Spain also ended their operations on Wednesday and were leaving Hatay.
Despite search and rescue efforts winding down, people are still being pulled alive from the rubble.
On Tuesday it ws reported that rescuers pulled a 77-year-old woman from debris in the city of Adiyaman.
