'Your pain is our pain,' says Bosnian rescuer in quake-hit Türkiye

By Seda Sevencan and Kenan Irtak

ISTANBUL (AA) - In the aftermath of last week's twin earthquakes in Türkiye, the leader of a Bosnian search and rescue team said they feel the pain of the Turkish people.

Speaking to reporters at Istanbul Airport, rescuer Fahrudin Dobraca said his team pulled 10 people alive from the rubble of collapsed buildings in Hatay province and recovered 27 bodies.

Underlining that they did their best during the rescue operation in the region, Dobraca said: “Your pain is our pain, we share it, and I don't know what else to say.”

He said his team consists of 20 people and they got training on search and rescue operations in liaison with the Turkish Cooperation and Coordination Agency (TIKA), the Turkish Disaster and Emergency Management Presidency (AFAD) and Istanbul-based Humanitarian Relief Foundation (IHH) for six years in the Bosnian capital Sarajevo.

They were scheduled to come to Türkiye for a drill, however, they came for a real rescue operation after the disaster, he added. “We really feel this pain and disaster, we are brothers.”

Over 35,000 people were killed, while tens of thousands of others were injured in the two earthquakes, affecting more than 13 million people across the Turkish provinces of Adana, Adiyaman, Diyarbakir, Gaziantep, Hatay, Kahramanmaras, Kilis, Malatya, Osmaniye, and Sanliurfa.

According to Türkiye’s Foreign Ministry, 9,315 personnel from 80 nations had arrived in the country until Monday – exactly a week since the disaster struck – to help out in disaster zones.

Besides rescue teams, blankets, tents, food, and psychological support teams, along with over 12,300 vehicles, including excavators, tractors, and bulldozers, were also sent to the affected areas.

More than 227,762 tents, 2.6 million blankets, and 48,271 containers have been sent to the 10 worst-hit provinces, according to the Turkish Disaster and Emergency Management Presidency (AFAD).

Türkiye's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said last Friday that the country was facing one of the biggest disasters in its modern history.

Condolences have poured in from around the world expressing solidarity with Türkiye, with many countries sending rescue teams and aid.