Helping out in the earthquake disaster zone
Cáritas launches appeal for aid to help the survivors
LITTLE more than 48 hours after two devastating earthquakes hit southern Turkey and northern Syria on Monday morning, firefighters from the Valencia region had reached the disaster area and were rescuing residents from the rubble.
Since the first team from Valencia province – the emergencies and catastrophes rescue unit (UREC) – flew out on Tuesday, more have followed to take part in the search for survivors.
More than 16,000 people in are now known to have been killed, with the death toll rising by the day.
Monday’s magnitude 7.8 quake was followed hours later by a second tremor which was almost as powerful, bringing down thousands of buildings including hospitals, schools and apartment blocks.
A state of emergency has been declared in 10 Turkish provinces, but residents in several damaged cities have voiced anger and despair over the slow response by the local authorities.
Alicante volunteers
A provincial fire service spokesman in Alicante reported that Sergio Pérez from Elche was part of country-wide team that flew out on Tuesday.
Working under the auspices of the NGO Girecan, 15 professionals are taking part in the search for survivors buried under the rubble.
Accompanied by sniffer dog Titán, a 10-year-old Belgian shepherd, Sr Pérez noted that they were expecting to spend around one week in the disaster zone.
The team arrived in Istanbul on Tuesday night and then flew to Adana airport to be deployed in the rescue effort.
A spokesman noted that every hour that passes ‘is an hour lost to rescue people alive from underneath the rubble’.
A number of buildings have collapsed in Adana but they were heading to a zone closer to the epicentre of the earthquakes ‘where there is greater devastation’.
The provincial fire service sent ‘all their support’ to Sr
Pérez and the Girecan firefighters and advised them to ‘take care’.
On Wednesday morning, a group made up of nine volunteers and four dogs from the NGO USAR 13 – which trains the canines in La Nucía specifically for such disasters – departed from Alicante-Elche airport.
The provincial brigade noted that the team included dog guides, rescuers and paramedics.
They train in La Nucía in an area of collapsed structures which replicate the devastation that follows an earthquake.
Aid needed
The Catholic church charity Cáritas has launched an appeal for aid to help the survivors.
They noted that a high number of people have lost their homes during the bitter winter, with temperatures at night below zero. The charity stated that they have mobilized their operations in Turkey and Syria to coordinate an urgent humanitarian relief effort, with hundreds of thousands of people injured.
Readers can make a donation via their website at https:// caritasoa.org/emergencias/ caritas-con-turquia-y-siria