Spanish rescue teams return from quake-hit Türkiye

ADANA, Türkiye

Spanish search and rescue teams returned to their country on Wednesday after spending the past week in Türkiye, which was hit by twin earthquakes on Feb.6.

The Spanish team, UME (Emergency Military Unit), consisting of 55 personnel and four dogs, and ERICAM (Emergency Response Unit of the Autonomous Region of Madrid), consisting of 40 people and four dogs, returned home with two planes from the southern Adana province.

"Our teams were among the first ones to arrive in the region after contacting Turkish authorities following the earthquake," Gregorio Laso, a press counselor at the Spanish Embassy in Ankara, told Anadolu.

Praising the strong cooperation with Türkiye, Laso said: "… We are working very closely. We are confident that Türkiye will overcome this shortly. We are here to help and cooperate in the future, whenever you need us."

"It was difficult, but I think we worked very well together. Thank God we did our best. Thank you,” said Jose Luis Jimenez Borraz, UME Lieutenant Colonel.

Annika Coll, ERICAM team leader, said she admired the strength and helpfulness of the Turkish people. "Even in a suffering moment, they fed and took care of us," she said, adding that she took part in the search and rescue operations in Hatay province.

"I think Spain and Türkiye are quite similar. In Türkiye, I felt at home, and I believe the whole team shared the same feeling," she added.

She expressed condolences on behalf of all European and Spanish people. "We feel it deeply in our hearts," she added.

At least 36,187 people were killed by the two strong earthquakes that jolted southern Türkiye on Feb. 6, the country's disaster agency said on Thursday in the latest figures from the natural disaster.

The Feb. 6 magnitude 7.7 and 7.6 earthquakes, centered in the Kahramanmaras province, affected more than 13 million people across 11 provinces, including Adana, Adiyaman, Diyarbakir, Gaziantep, Hatay, Kilis, Malatya, Osmaniye, Sanliurfa, and Elazig.

Several countries in the region, including Syria and Lebanon, also felt the strong tremors that struck Türkiye in less than 10 hours.

*Writing by Anna Cecilia Canatan