The search and rescue team of the German aid organisations I.S.A.R. Germany and BRH Bundesverband Rettungshunde has arrived in the Turkish earthquake region. The helpers are deployed in the city of Kırıkhan in the province of Hatay, near the Syrian border.
Shortly after arriving, the team was called to the first incident site. Members of the partner organisation I.S.A.R. Turkey had heard knocking and calling signals at a collapsed building. The teams from Turkey and Germany immediately began to work their way through the rubble to the trapped person. The site was „extremely dangerous“, said Michael Lesmeister, who was in charge of the rescue work at the site. „A lot of support has to be provided, as other parts of the building could collapse at any time.“ The rescue work has not yet been completed.
I.S.A.R. Germany and BRH work in Kirikhan in close coordination with the local authorities. While the first rescuers are already searching for buried victims, other team members are setting up the base camp. The rescue team is accommodated in tents. The equipment is designed to enable the team to be self-sufficient in the disaster area for at least ten days. This means that sufficient food, water and fuel are carried for this period.
Independently of the rescue work, a reconnaissance team from I.S.A.R. Germany and BRH is on the move in the city. Once the reconnaissance has been completed, rescue dogs are deployed at other damage sites to search for trapped people there too. If necessary, localisation technology is then also used. This helps to localise the buried victims even more precisely. If people have been located under the rubble, the team's rescue experts take over the site. They work their way through the rubble using breakers, concrete chainsaws, cut-off grinders and core drills. Once the trapped person has been rescued, the medics provide first aid.
The efforts of the I.S.A.R. Germany team and the BRH Federal Association of Rescue Dogs are supported by the RTL - Wir helfen Kindern foundation and Aktion Deutschland Hilft.