In the early hours of 6 February, massive 7.8 magnitude earthquakes hit southern Turkey near the Syrian border, bringing devastation to both countries.
Buildings and huge swathes of cities were turned to rubble. Thousands of people were crushed to death, trapped in collapsed buildings, or instantly made homeless.
The day after the earthquake struck firefighters from 14 UK fire and rescue services flew to Turkey to help in the 77-strong UK International Search and Rescue team (UKISAR). They were joined by medics, a vet, a structural engineer and four rescue dogs and their handlers.
Firefighters who volunteer for UKISAR, which responds to accidents and disasters on behalf of the UK government, undergo rigorous training and are on perpetual standby. They know the call could come anytime.
But, as London firefighter and LGBT+ rep Tracy Doyle put it, no amount of training can prepare you for the reality of “handballing rubble” in the quest to save lives amid scenes of acute desperation.
A firefighter for 21 years, she is used to dealing with road crashes and major incidents in Croydon. But the “catastrophic devastation” confronting rescue teams in Turkey – bodies piled up alongside roads, distraught family members desperately seeking loved ones, stray dogs rummaging among ruins – she found “unimaginable” before witnessing it – and, along with other team members, getting stuck in.
The UK team was deployed to Antakya, capital of Hatay province – one of the hardest hit cities, where 3,100 buildings collapsed killing many thousands of people.
GRUELLING RACE
Against this grim backdrop, the UK contingent – split into four teams – got to work, looking for casualties in collapsed buildings, sending in dogs trained to sniff out life not death in a gruelling race against time. Fractured sleep came in freezing tents as the temperature dropped to -6ºC at night.
Volunteer interpreters, such as Gamze, a 24-year-old English teacher, became the “go to” person for Tracy’s team. She and other local helpers “proved invaluable”. They “spoke to people desperate to find relatives, explained things, stayed calm and that allowed us to carry on with our search and rescue’’.
Volunteer interpreter Gamze is now living in one tent and teaching in another. Many, many more in the region will be sharing a similar plight
Cheshire firefighter John Monaghan was in the team that rescued a 91-year-old woman from a second floor flat in a partially collapsed building, the day after arriving in the devastated city.
John entered the building where the old lady had been trapped for three days. Fellow Cheshire firefighter Andrew Clarke helped lower her out to safety with a “makeshift stretcher” – a piece of fencing – and into a waiting ambulance. “She was still in good spirits, though quite dehydrated”.
The two men also played a part in a lengthy, nerve-shredding rescue that involved most of the UK team five days after the earthquake hit, eventually liberating a woman and a man trapped after a hotel collapsed onto their flat. It took nearly 20 hours, with teams working intense 20-minute shifts, tunnelling through concrete. The woman was rescued first, then the man, whose legs had been trapped under rubble.
For Robin Bates, from Hampshire and Isle of Wight fire and rescue service, one of the things he found most difficult to deal with was the reaction of families when rescue dogs could not sniff life, so teams did not enter the building. “We had to move on to try and reach live people. That was one of the really hardest things.”
HONOURED TO HAVE BEEN OF USE
Back home, in Cheshire, John recalls the tremendous humanity displayed by local volunteers who came to help – and how “the stench of death” set in as the days passed. And, alongside Tracy, Andrew, and Robin, how glad and honoured he felt to have been of use.
The teams rescued eight people – and the dogs helped teams from other countries save three more. It was UK’s most successful rescue since UKISAR was founded 30 years ago.
By March 20, more than 57,300 deaths had been confirmed in Turkey and Syria and 121,000 injured.
Antakya is a historic crossroad of civilisations, known as Antioch in former times. It has been repeatedly destroyed by earthquakes and rebuilt over history. Mosques and churches have again been crushed; historical buildings shattered.
Back in Croydon, Tracy is encouraging people to raise money for the Disasters Emergency Committee (DEC) to get medical treatment, food, shelter and clean water to those who desperately need it. The union has donated £10,000.
She recently heard some distressing news from Gamze, who had engaged so actively with search and rescue. When another earthquake hit on 20 February, her home collapsed. She is now living in one tent and teaching in another. Many, many more in the region will be sharing a similar plight.
