Dog helps lost aid team reach victims in quake-hit Türkiye

By Hatice Özdemir Tosun

ANTALYA, Türkiye (AA) - A Turkish aid team managed to reach earthquake victims in southern Türkiye by following a dog when they got lost.

After setting out for a village in Goksun district of Kahramanmaras province, the team chose an alternate route as the road was closed due to snow and rocks. After a while, they lost their way and decided to follow a dog that approached them. Thanks to the guidance of the dog, they found the village and delivered the aid.

The team also recorded these moments with a mobile phone. The video footage shows a dog running ahead and the aid vehicle, which is following the animal.

Rescue efforts and humanitarian aid continue uninterrupted for earthquake victims in the region affected by the disaster.

The powerful twin earthquakes that struck southern Türkiye last Monday were three times stronger than the 1999 Marmara earthquake in the country's northwest, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Saturday.

At least 29,605 people were killed by the quakes, the country's disaster agency said Sunday.

The magnitude 7.7 and 7.6 earthquakes, centered in the Kahramanmaras province, affected more than 13 million people across 10 provinces including Adana, Adiyaman, Diyarbakir, Gaziantep, Hatay, Kilis, Malatya, Osmaniye and Sanliurfa.

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

*Writing by Seda Sevencan