Poland sends mine rescuers to Turkey after deadly earthquake

Poland is sending mine rescuers to Turkey to help with the consequences of a devastating earthquake which shook the country on Monday, the Polish prime minister has announced.

More than 5,000 people were killed and thousands injured when a 7.8-magnitude quake struck central Turkey and northwest Syria in the early hours of Monday.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Tuesday declared a three-month state of emergency in 10 provinces hit by the earthquake.

On Tuesday morning, a team of 76 Polish search and rescue specialists arrived in Turkey to help in rescue and relief operations.

Later in the day, Mateusz Morawiecki, the Polish prime minister, wrote on Twitter that Polish mine rescuers would also set out on a mission to Turkey.

"The scale of the tragedy is so huge that every kind of help is needed," he wrote.