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PICS | Turkey-Syria earthquake: SA rescuers search for survivors in ‘trying’ conditions
South African Search and Rescue team members deployed to Turkey, where a 10-storey building collapsed.
PHOTO: Supplied by Medi Response
- South African rescuers are continuing with their search through the rubble of a collapsed 10-storey building for survivors of an earthquake that hit Turkey and Syria.
- Survivors are yet to be located on the site.
- “There is limited food, and trying environmental conditions prevail,” said Medi Response spokesperson Paul Herbst.
South African search and rescue team members who were deployed to Turkey are continuing with their efforts to search through the rubble of a 10-storey building that collapsed during tremors that followed a 7.8-magnitude earthquake that hit Turkey and Syria.
The Turkish government asked the team, working under the banner of the Gift of the Givers Foundation, to lend a helping hand.
According to the Medi Response paramedics, they have been using heavy machinery and specialised search and rescue and access equipment to comb through the site in the hope of locating survivors.
South African Search and Rescue team members deployed to Turkey.
South African Search and Rescue team members in Turkey.
“The use of K9s as well as sensitive sonar, thermal and audio equipment, aids in locating trapped persons. Unfortunately, survivors are yet to be located on this particular site,” they added in a statement.
READ | ‘The devastation is intense’: SA volunteers in earthquake-stricken Turkey say scores still missing
Medi Response spokesperson Paul Herbst said the team members were fatigued as a result of travelling and adapting to the conditions.
“There is limited food, and trying environmental conditions prevail. Members remain in good spirits and have worked through day and night, as they take turns resting for short periods,” he added.
Gift of the Givers Foundation founder Imtiaz Sooliman said rescuers were experiencing difficulty carrying tents and blankets in extremely cold weather conditions.
South African Search and Rescue team members comb through the rubble of a 10-storey building that collapsed in Turkey.
He added that the local community was counting on them to help them find their loved ones.
“It is indeed a very difficult time. The earthquake has affected 23 million people, of which 23 000 have passed on, and the count is going to be higher,” Sooliman said.
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