Nepal on Monday sent essential relief materials to Turkey following a 7.8M earthquake last Monday that has taken several thousand lives.

According to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Nepal sent more than 22 tons of relief materials on Monday, including medicines, medical supplies, warm clothes, and other essential materials.

With hopes of finding many more survivors in the rubble fast fading, the official death toll in Turkey reached 31,643 with more than 4,300 people reported dead in the disaster in neighbouring Syria.

An emergency meeting on disaster risk reduction and management held under the chairmanship of Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal on Wednesday decided to send essential materials including medical equipment, a medical response team and warm clothes to Turkey.

The Turkish government provided rescue and relief assistance to Nepal during the 2015 earthquake. The Turkish government had sent a search and rescue and medical response team to Nepal following the disaster.

Foreign Minister Bimala Rai Poudyal on Wednesday held a phone conversation with her Turkish counterpart Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu and offered condolences to those who lost their lives in the powerful earthquake.