Rescue teams move mountains of debris to find Turkish quake survivors

KAHRAMANMARAS, Türkiye

Search and rescue teams are trudging along mountains of debris in the aftermath of deadly earthquakes that hit southern Türkiye on Monday.

Major parts of the city center of Kahramanmaras, epicenter of 7.7 and 7.6 magnitude quakes, have turned into rubble. Residential buildings, offices, banks and markets have crumbled like cookies.

Dozens of local organizations and a steady stream of volunteers are aiding the search, rescue and relief operations.

Given the enormity of the task, international teams have arrived to help find the survivors.

In a suburb of Kahramanmaras, search and rescue personnel from Japan are busy looking for the trapped people.

“We are 73 members divided in four groups besides several sniffer dogs and around 15 tons of equipment for search operations,” one of the Japanese team members told Anadolu.

He said all of the Japanese rescue team members are deployed in Kahramanmaras. “We are here for as long as our services are required,” he said.

Just a stone's throw away, rescue workers from Bosnia and Herzegovina are struggling to remove the debris of a residential building.

“We are stressed after seeing the scale of the earthquake,” said Nenad Cuk, deputy director of Civil protection administration of Republika Srpska from Bosnia.

He is leading a team of 22 personnel for search and rescue.

“We sympathize with the Turkish people and nation. Türkiye helped us in the 2014 floods and it is our moral and human obligation in a way to help,” said Cuk.

Cuk said his team will be in Türkiye for “as long as we are needed.”

Deep shock

People are in shock. “This was huge building housing many offices until Sunday night when I passed from here,” said Yilmaz, in his mid-40s, who only gave his last name. “It is rubble now.”

While most of city is damaged due to the strong earthquakes, dubbed worst in the 21st century by seismologists, neighborhoods outside the city center wear a deserted look as residents have flocked to see their relatives.

“I woke up at the time of earthquake and rushed out of the building,” said Alici, a businessman who lives in the outskirts of the city. “After few minutes, I returned to the comfort of my bed.”

Little did he know, the house of his relative in the city center was destroyed in the first earthquake that struck Türkiye at 4.17 a.m. local time (0117GMT) on Monday. Another quake of 7.6 magnitude hit the country nine hours later.

“I called my relatives who live in the city center,” Alici told Anadolu. With passage of every second, his heart beat increased.

“We rushed to see our relatives in the morning. Unfortunately, we could not save our uncle,” Alici said, pointing to the dreaded building where his relatives lived.

The dividers along the roads have turned into makeshift kitchens for families, who sob and hug each other, and hand out steaming cups of tea while waiting for any news about their loved ones.

AFAD leading relief work

At the provincial headquarters of Türkiye's Disaster and Emergency Management Presidency (AFAD), rescue teams from around the world are setting up their tents and readying for deployment.

The personnel from different nations are making new friends. They are seen posing for photos and exchanging numbers.

The respective countries including United Arab Emirates, Israel and others have raised their national flags.

“We are here trying to help with everything we have got,” said a member of the Dubai Rescue team. “As individuals, as people, as governments, all of us are involved (in the rescue and relief),” he said, requesting anonymity.

A short distance away, Israeli team have made a tent city for its personnel, while members from Azerbaijan are walking together discussing their forward deployment.

At least 18,342 people were killed and 74,242 others injured in the twin earthquakes which hit the southern parts of Türkiye which were also felt in nearby countries, including Syria and Lebanon.

A total of 6,444 buildings collapsed due to the 7.7 and 7.6 magnitude quakes that occurred in the space of fewer than 10 hours.

Türkiye has declared a three-month state of emergency in 10 provinces hit by the earthquakes.

The earthquakes were also felt in several countries in the region, including Syria and Lebanon.

AFAD said the quakes were followed by 1,509 aftershocks.