UK team continuing rescue efforts in quake-hit Türkiye

LONDON

Like many countries, British search and rescue teams have also been racing to save lives in Türkiye after last Monday’s major quakes.

After Ankara declared a level 4 alert including an international call for help, countries across the globe such as the UK sent rescue teams to Türkiye to help quake victims.

A UK International Search and Rescue (ISAR) team continues their rescue efforts in Hatay, Türkiye’s southernmost province and one of the worst hit by the quakes.

Malcolm Russell, a member of the team, shared a video clip on Sunday showing a tunnel route created by the team to help access to possible survivors.

Meanwhile, another UK rescue mission arrived in Türkiye to join search and relief efforts in the wake of the two powerful quakes, the Foreign Office said on Sunday.

"The team of 11 will treat those who have suffered traumatic injuries in the earthquake which has devastated Turkey and Syria," the ministry said on Twitter.

It said the UK Emergency Medical Team (UKEMT), equipped with a field clinic, will provide urgent care to victims in quake-hit areas.

The team left Brize Norton, in Oxfordshire, for Türkiye on Saturday afternoon.

Last Tuesday, a day after the quakes, a British search and rescue team of 77 specialists arrived and they continue rescue work in the Hatay province.

In Türkiye, over 29,000 people were killed and over 80,000 others wounded after magnitude 7.7 and 7.6 earthquakes struck 10 southern provinces on Feb. 6, affecting around 13 million people, according to the latest official figures.

Several countries in the region, including Syria and Lebanon, also felt the strong tremors.

In Syria, at least 3,500 people were killed and thousands of others injured in the northern provinces of Idlib, Latakia, Aleppo, Hama, and Raqqa, according to regime sources and rescue officials in opposition-held areas.