The Austrian army resumes its rescue operation in the earthquake zone in Turkey. The spokesman for the Austrian armed forces reports that the army is receiving military protection from the Turkish armed forces. Earlier in the day, Austria announced that it would end the operation due to mutual violence between Turks. Shortly afterwards, Germany also decided to suspend the deployment because of the unrest. The Dutch search and rescue team USAR has continued to search for victims of the earthquake in Turkey.
The Austrian army team spoke of an increasingly difficult security situation, Austrian media reported. “The expected success of a life rescue is disproportionate to the security risk,” the armed forces said. They pointed to increasing aggression in Turkey. There would even have been shots, but not at the Austrian aid workers. The team, like other foreign disaster response units, operates from a base camp in the Turkish province of Hatay.
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The Dutch operate in Hatay just like the Austrians. The USAR team remains active, reports a spokesman. “We do notice that the atmosphere has changed. For example, our people have seen looted shops. They themselves have not had to deal with aggression, only with Turkish hospitality. There is no reason to stop our activities. We are closely monitoring the situation.”
USAR departed from Eindhoven airport for Turkey on Monday evening and set up base camp in the disaster area on Tuesday. The team consists of employees from the police, fire brigade, ambulance services and Defense who have been specially trained for this. There are also eight rescue dogs with them.
rescues
On Friday, USAR in Hatay rescued an eight-year-old boy who had been trapped under rubble for 106 hours. This means that twelve people have been rescued by the Dutch team so far.
USAR has all kinds of specialists. Including a safety expert. “He looks at the safety around the camp and keeps in touch with the local government. We notice sufficient support from the Turkish authorities, they seem to have an eye for our safety,” said the USAR spokesperson.
Moving to another city is out of the question. “Every hour is precious now. We are looking for a needle in a haystack in search of a miracle. If we move somewhere else now, it will only cost time.”