Vietnam’s rescue team discovers 15 sites with quake victims in Turkey

The team operated at some locations in Cebrail commune of Antakya, the capital of Hatay.

At each location, they discussed search plans with the local rescue force and then utilized sniffer dogs and sapper equipment to search the places where there were possibly victims under the rubble.

Among those places, they detected a dead victim inside a collapsed building and then handed over the site to local rescuers to pull the body out.

As of Sunday evening (Hanoi time), the military team had searched 31 locations in Antakya, helping discover 15 sites with victims trapped under the rubble, including two places with signs of survivors. They handed over the sites to the local rescue force to bring 28 dead bodies out.

During that process, they coordinated with the Bahraini team to find out one site with eight corpses and with the Mexican team to find out two other places with victims.

Besides, the Vietnamese team has also assisted three families to move household goods out of the rubble.

As of late Sunday, the 7.8-magnitude earthquake in Turkey and the neighboring Syria had killed more than 46,000 people, including nearly 40,700 in Turkey.

Another rescue team from Vietnam’s Public Security Ministry completed their nine-day mission in Turkey and returned home Sunday.

Bringing along more than 15.2 tonnes of goods to Turkey, including foods, medicines, and equipment to serve search and rescue work, the 24-member team engaged in search and rescue activities in the Turkish southeastern city of Adiyaman since February 10.

During their mission, the Vietnamese rescue police team saved a 17-year-old and found the bodies of 14 victims in the rubble caused by the 7.8 magnitude earthquake.

Apart from performing their tasks at earthquake sites, the team handed over medical equipment and medicines from the ministry to local authorities, and visited and presented gifts to local residents.

According to the Turkish Disaster and Emergency Management Authority, more than 6,400 buildings in southern Turkey collapsed after two earthquakes and more than 430 aftershocks struck.

Some 8,300 international personnel have joined search and rescue operations in the country.