The first convoy with relief material pooled from the Government of India and the international community was transported to Syria today February 15. Rations and medicines were handed over to local administrators in Allepo upon a request made by the government to the United Nations.

While the Middle Eastern country suffers its deadliest disaster in a century, India has provided Turkey and Syria with earthquake aid ranging from critical medicines, seven C-17 aircraft and now a tracking system.

The Indian Army has developed a network-independent real-time tracking and messaging module called "SANCHAR" which is being used in the Republic of Türkiye in areas where Indian soldiers have been deployed.

Indian Army forces have been deployed in areas of Turkey to provide relief to the local population. There, they can now use the "SANCHAR" system developed by Captain Karan Singh and Sub PG Sapre, reported ANI.

The tool is for use by all defence forces and paramilitary in operations to help track team members and assets on the battlefield and will be used to track relief operations better in earthquake-hit areas.

A catastrophic and destructive earthquake of 7.8 magnitude hit Turkey and Syria on February 6. Over 40,000 deaths have been confirmed following the seismic disruption that has broken several records.

It is also stipulated to be the fourth costliest earthquake on record, having caused approximately $84.1 billion of damage.

The Indian Army team deployed in the United Nations Disengagement Observer Force (UNDOF) also delivered relief material to Aleppo in Syria on Wednesday.

The Army announced that the deployment included rations and medicines from the Government of India including contributions from the international community. Sources told ANI that the Syrian government had requested aid from the United Nations.

The Indian government had decided that an Army team of around 40 personnel based at UNDOF would undertake multiple trips to Allepo to transport relief materials. These include rations, medical supplies, clothing and other aid.

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Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan on Tuesday announced that 35,418 deaths had been reported in the country making the earthquake the worst disaster the country has seen in a century.

Local media reported that on Tuesday, at least seven survivors were rescued from the rubble of areas in Turkey that were hit by the recent earthquake, which is the worst in the country's modern history.

Among those rescued was a woman who was pulled from the ruins of a building in Hatay province in southern Turkey, with the assistance of Ukrainian rescue workers, as reported by CNN Turk.

According to doctors at a field hospital in the southern Turkish city of Iskenderun, there has been a rise in the number of patients seeking treatment for post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and panic attacks in the aftermath of last week's earthquake.

Indian Army Major Beena Tiwari explained that while initially, patients were primarily those who had sustained physical injuries under the rubble, an increasing number of patients were now presenting with PTSD due to the shock and trauma they experienced during the earthquake and its aftermath.

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She further stated that many patients were also seeking treatment for panic attacks.

PTSD, which is caused by very stressful, frightening or distressing events, can lead to patients reliving the traumatic event through nightmares and flashbacks, and having difficulties sleeping and concentrating.

Iskenderun hospital commander Yaduvir Singh reported that in addition to an increase in patients with mental health issues such as PTSD and panic attacks, they are also seeing more patients with infectious diseases and upper respiratory infections.

Singh also expressed concern for the thousands of people who are currently living in tents outside in freezing temperatures, as they are likely to be experiencing significant hardship.

United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Tuesday announced a $397 million appeal to help the 5 million survivors in rebel-held northwest Syria.

With agency inputs.