"We're honored to help," says Qatari leader leading earthquake relief efforts alongside Turkey

Qatar mobilized support from the very first day, says Lt. Col. Hamad Al Hajri, who is heading team stationed at Adana's Incirlik Air Base

Qatar is trying to help people in Turkey’s quake-hit regions “as if it is our own country,” according to a Qatari military commander.

“When this disaster occurred, we took action on the very first day, as instructed by Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani,” Lt. Col. Hamad Al Hajri told Anadolu at the Incirlik Air Base in the southern Adana province, where his team is stationed with four helicopters and a C-130 plane.

Adana is one of the 11 southern Turkish provinces hit in the Feb. 6 tremors, along with Kahramanmaras, Hatay, Gaziantep, Adiyaman, Malatya, Diyarbakir, Kilis, Osmaniye, Sanliurfa, and Elazig.

One of the first things Qatari officials did in Turkey was to get in contact with the Turkish disaster management agency AFAD and find a place to set up a field hospital, said Al Hajri.

“After finding the right location for the hospital, we immediately started its construction, as well as setting up shelters for victims,” he said.

A field hospital was set up and made operational in Hatay’s Payas district within five days, while tents were installed for 1,000 people, according to the official.

Turkey, Qatar ‘have always stood by each other’