Rescuer from Greek island tells of sincerity of Turks in wake of devastating quakes

By Ahmet Gencturk

ATHENS (AA) - A rescuer from the Greek island of Corfu, who returned Friday after days-long intense search and rescue missions in Adiyaman province in Türkiye, recounted the sincerity of Turkish people amid the devastating quakes.

Andreas Korikis told public broadcaster ERT Corfu that people rushed to express whole-hearted gratitude and gave hugs to the rescuers they encountered.

“When we arrived at the Istanbul Airpot to take a flight back to Greece, airport employees started to applaud us enthusiastically when they realized we were the rescuers,” he added.

Korikis said they witnessed devastation they could not imagine before arriving on the scene.

“We cannot describe in words what we experienced,” he said.

A Greek ship loaded with 50 tons of humanitarian aid for victims in Türkiye and Syria departed from the Port of Patras.

And at least 500 pallets of aid containing winter clothes, blankets, medicines, food and personal hygiene items will be sent from the northern port city of Thessaloniki to Syria and Türkiye in 22 trucks early next week.

Aid materials were donated in a campaign by the Regional Union of Municipalities of Central Macedonia (PEDKM).

At least 38,044 people were killed by the two strong earthquakes that jolted southern Türkiye on Feb. 6, the country's disaster agency said Friday.

The 7.7- and 7.6-magnitude quakes were centered in Kahramanmaras and struck 10 other provinces -- Adana, Adiyaman, Diyarbakir, Hatay, Gaziantep, Malatya, Kilis, Osmaniye, Elazig and Sanliurfa. More than 13 million people have been affected by the devastating quakes.

Several countries in the region, including Syria and Lebanon, also felt the strong tremors that struck in the space of less than 10 hours.