Four Scots firefighters have joined the rescue operation in Turkey following a horror earthquake as the total death toll nears 10,000.
The team from the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service will be assisting the search and rescue operations following two devastating earthquakes which rocked multiple area in the region on Monday. They will be providing specialist technical support and expertise where it is needed most.
The hero Scots who have arrived in Turkey are Watch Commander John Aitchison from the training centre in Portlethen, Crew Commander Steven Adams, of the MacAlpine Road Fire Station in Dundee, and firefighters Tony Armstrong and Keith Gauld from Aberdeen’s North Anderson Drive Fire Station.
They have joined a 77-strong International Search and Rescue (UKISAR) team made up of firefighters and staff from 14 fire and rescue services, deployed through the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office.
Aitchison and Adams have been involved in previous search and rescue missions. They were deployed as part of a team sent to Nepal in 2015 following an earthquake near Kathmandu.
Bruce Farquharson is Deputy Assistant Chief Officer for the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service, and UKISAR Team Manager in Scotland. He said: “The scenes in Turkey and Syria are devastating and our thoughts are firmly with the families, friends and communities who have been affected by these tragic earthquakes.
“Our team will use their specialist skills and a range of technical equipment as they join a wider collective effort in a bid to save lives and they will also be supporting other emergency service teams already in the area.”
A powerful 7.8 magnitude earthquake hit southeast Turkey, toppling buildings and leaving a trail of disaster in seven Turkish provinces and northern Syria, with tremors felt as far as Cairo. The high-magnitude tremor struck at 4.17am local time in southeastern Turkey near the Syrian border.
The epicentre of the quake was near the city of Gaziantep at a depth of 17.9km, impacting around seven provinces in Turkey and a large area in northern Syria. A second earthquake, measuring at least 7.5 magnitude was later felt in central Turkey.
The death toll from the earthquake in southern Turkey and northern Syria has climbed past 9,400, making it the deadliest seismic event in more than a decade. Turkish authorities updated the country’s death toll to 6,957 on Wednesday.
In neighbouring Syria, the government has reported 1,250 deaths from Monday’s pre-dawn earthquake in the areas it controls.
The UKISAR team responds primarily to overseas urban search and rescue emergencies on behalf of the UK. Any UKISAR team deployed is self-sufficient upon arrival and provides its own food, water, shelter, sanitation, communications and all necessary equipment to undertake search and rescue operations for up to 14 days.
This is to ensure no additional burden is placed upon a country already suffering demands on its resources following a sudden onset disaster. All UKISAR staff are trained to use specialist kit and the equipment being taken will ensure the team has the ability and capacity to lift, cut and remove concrete and rubble from collapsed structures.
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