Indian Army female officer hugging a Turkish woman

Ankara: The Indian Army has deployed disaster relief teams and set up a field hospital to help victims of the recent earthquakes that hit the country.

India's Additional Directorate General of Public Information (ADG-PI) on Thursday tweeted an image of a female Indian Army officer hugging a Turkish woman in the earthquake-affected areas of Turkey.

The tweet read: "#OperationDost We Care. #IndianArmy #Turkiye."

The Indian army's field hospital set-up in Turkey's Hatay to provide assistance to the earthquake-affected people started functioning on Thursday.

"The army field hospital in Iskenderun, Hatay, Turkiye has started functioning with running Medical, Surgical & Emergency Wards; X-Ray Lab & Medical Store," External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar tweeted on Thursday.

An Additional Directorate General of Public Information team will work 24x7 to provide relief to the affected people, according to Jaishankar.

The army field hospital has been set up under India's 'Operation Dost' to provide assistance to Turkey's earthquake-hit people.

Jaishankar, sharing photos of the facility on Twitter on Wednesday, wrote: "This field hospital in Hatay, Turkiye will treat those affected by the earthquake. Our team of medical & critical care specialists and equipment are preparing to treat emergencies."

Jaishankar on Thursday said the sixth plane from India carrying rescue personnel, essentials, and medical equipment for earthquake relief efforts has reached Turkey.

The sixth flight carries more rescue teams, dog squads, and essential medicines for the quake-hit country.

Meanwhile, according to CNN, the death toll from the devastating earthquakes that hit Turkey and Syria earlier this week has risen to at least 17,500.

At least 12,873 people have died in Turkey, according to the Disaster and Emergency Management Agency (AFAD) on Thursday.

In Syria, the total number of fatalities has been pegged at 3,162, including 1,900 in rebel-held areas in the country's northwest, according to the 'White Helmets' civil defence group.