Scott Air Force Base service members go to Turkey, Syria to assist after earthquake

METRO EAST (KMOV) -- Search and rescue teams with service men and women from Scott Air Force Base loaded up planes to head to Turkey and Syria after a major earthquake there. Doctors and engineers are among the personnel who will help victims pulled from the rubble.

It’s become a desperate struggle to locate and rescue survivors in the two countries. The death toll rose to nearly 8,000 after the 7.8 magnitude earthquake.

Turkey’s president says a state of emergency will last three months. The World Health Organization says 23 million people could be affected by the earthquake.

A local organization is also hosting a clothes drive this week to send in the aftermath of the quake.