More U.S. earthquake aid heads to Turkey

A fourth U.S. plane, a C-17, will carry 2,200 pounds of firefighting equipment, chiefly for use against the refinery fire, which is now considered "under control" but still burning.

Water, plastic shelter, medicine

Also on the way from the United States is:

"This is just the first phase ... right now, we're focusing all our energy on search and rescue," said Roy Williams, director of the Office of Foreign Disaster Assistance, a division of the U.S. Agency for International Development.

U.S. financial assistance to Turkey has totaled a single $25,000 emergency donation to the Turkish Red Crescent, said Marc Grossman, assistant secretary of state for European affairs.

The Ankara government has not requested any additional assistance, and the Clinton administration has not begun to prepare any, he said.

Marines on the move

On Wednesday, three Navy ships with 2,100 Marines were ordered to head for the Aegean Sea to provide humanitarian assistance to earthquake victims.

The ships from the 26th Marine Expeditionary Unit left port in Spain and could arrive near Istanbul as early as Friday night, the Navy said.

The three "amphibious-ready" ships, the USS Kearsarge, the USS Ponce and the USS Gunston Hall, have about 630 beds, six operating rooms, five X-ray rooms, eight doctors, three dental officers and 88 medical corpsmen.

The 22 helicopters on the ships can provide medical evacuations from the damaged areas.

Rescue workers, along with trained dogs, left this week for Turkey

The 26th Marine Expeditionary Unit recently completed peacekeeping duties in Kosovo. The Marines were the first U.S. forces to enter the Serb province after NATO's air war against Yugoslavia ended in June.

Rescue units at work

Meanwhile, U.S. rescue teams were working Thursday to free three people pinned amid rubble from the earthquake.

The three -- a 5-year-old girl, a 24-year-old woman and a man of undetermined age -- were found alive amid rubble in the hard-hit city of Izmit, National Security Council spokesman David Leavy said.

More than 70 search and rescue personnel from Fairfax, Virginia, and Miami are stationed in the southeast quadrant of Izmit.

They began round-the-clock shifts early Thursday, Leavy said.

The Associated Press and Reuters contributed to this report.

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