Polish firefighters rescued nine people from under the rubble in Turkey during their first day of participation in the rescue operation after an earthquake that has killed thousands in Turkey and Syria.
The Polish HUSAR rescue team, consisting of 76 firefighters and eight rescue dogs, arrived in Turkey on Tuesday shortly after midnight Warsaw time (2.29 a.m. local) and was immediately sent to the town of Besni northeast of Gaziantep, where the epicentre of the earthquake was located.
Besni, which has a population of more than 70,000, has seen the collapse of a number of buildings, including multi-family housing, where people may still be alive.
Podział sektorów gdzie działa nasza drużyna. Na miejscu tylko nasza ekipa. Dużo pracy przed naszymi ratownikami i psiakami 🇹🇷🇵🇱❤️🚒💪🏻👍🏻✌🏻 pic.twitter.com/A53BoXhWr2
— Andrzej Bartkowiak (@ABartkowiak_PSP) February 7, 2023
The news of the first successful rescue came on Tuesday after 3 p.m. Polish time. Among those rescued by Polish firefighters was a family of four (parents and two children) and also a 13-year-old girl.
“Our group continues to work,” said the chief commander of the Polish fire department Andrzej Bartkowiak on social media. “Time is of the essence.”
The HUSAR rescue team has been operating since 1999, taking part in rescue missions in Haiti, Nepal and Beirut, among others. Before the team set off from Warsaw, Bartkowiak said his colleagues would be working “day and night” for up to seven days.
Ewakuowano kolejne żywe osoby, młoda dziewczynę oraz 4osobowa rodzina (rodzice i dwójka dzieci).
Łączny bilans – dotychczas HUSAR Poland wydobyła 8 żywych osób. Brawo ✌🏻💪🏻👍🏻❤️🚒🇹🇷🇵🇱 serce rośnie pic.twitter.com/JBhTBzOcHl— Andrzej Bartkowiak (@ABartkowiak_PSP) February 7, 2023
Additional support for Turkey was later announced by Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki and Defense Minister Mariusz Błaszczak.
“The Polish Army will help Turkey deal with the effects of the earthquake,” said Błaszczak. “Today we are sending medical personnel there from the Military Field Hospital in Wrocław – a total of 52 people, including doctors, nurses and paramedics. A mobile aid station with equipment will also be flown to Turkey.”
“Polish mine rescuers are heading to Turkey. The scale of the tragedy is so great that all help is invaluable,” tweeted Morawiecki.
Do Turcji ruszają polscy ratownicy górniczy. Skala tragedii jest tak ogromna, że potrzebna jest każda pomoc.
Polish mine rescuers are heading to Turkey. The scale of the tragedy is so great that all help is invaluable.
— Mateusz Morawiecki (@MorawieckiM) February 7, 2023
Monday’s 7.8-magnitude earthquake in southern Turkey and northern Syria, followed hours later by a second one almost as powerful, toppled thousands of buildings, including hospitals, schools and apartment blocks, trapping thousands under the rubble.
Due to the freezing temperatures that Turkey is currently experiencing, especially at night, firefighters’ chances of finding survivors under the rubble are decreasing by the hour. Nevertheless, more than 8,000 people have already been rescued, Turkey’s vice president Fuat Oktay said on Tuesday evening.
The total death toll in Turkey and Syria has surpassed 9,600, with hundreds of thousands seeking refuge in government shelters or hotels, with others huddling in shopping malls, stadiums, mosques and community centres.
Main photo credit: National Headquarters of the State Fire Service of Poland
Alicja Ptak is senior editor at Notes from Poland and a multimedia journalist. She previously worked for Reuters.
