Greek rescuers remember sincere local support in Türkiye quake zone

By Ahmet Gencturk and Derya Gulnaz Ozcan

ATHENS (AA) - Weeks after returning from operations to rescue earthquake victims in southern Türkiye, Greek rescuers reflected on the sincere support of the Turkish people and authorities.

"I, as a senior rescuer and an engineer, want to emphasize that I never witnessed such a devastating disaster," said Konstantinos Nikas, a member of Greece's elite EMAK rescue unit, which saved at least five people in the southernmost Hatay province, one of the worst-hit by powerful back-to-back tremors on Feb. 6 that claimed over 46,100 lives.

Speaking to Anadolu, Nikas said they were in close coordination with the Turkish Disaster and Emergency Management Presidency (AFAD) from the very first hours of the disaster.

Both Turkish authorities in the area, including the military, police, fire department, as well as the local population, embraced the team from Greece, providing any kind of support they needed, Nikas said.

"Locals shared everything they had with us. They served us homemade dishes, hot tea, and desserts," he recounted. "I now have so many beautiful and heart-warming memories with me from Türkiye."

Reiterating that his team, like other foreign and Turkish rescue units, had to work under very difficult circumstances for long hours, he remarked that the effort was both "physiologically and emotionally demanding.”

"Rescue work is much more than breaking the stones, removing the rubble, and pulling survivors out," Nikas said.

The struggle was well worth it, though, he said, for every life that they saved from under the debris of collapsed buildings after what can often be many hours of exertion.

Nikas also emphasized that natural disasters are "bigger than states" making close cooperation between nations all the more crucial in dealing with them.

One of his teammates, Panagiotis Giannopoulos, struck a similar note, saying: "We can't do everything on our own. There are often situations that require us to ask for help from our neighbors."

Emphasizing that humanity will always have to cope with natural disasters, Giannopoulos said they mobilized to assist the disaster response effort soon after the earthquakes occurred.

Turkish and Greek authorities responded swiftly and efficiently, allowing EMAK to be the first foreign rescue team on the ground in the Turkish disaster zone.

Giannopoulos also underscored the role of the international disaster response mechanism, including the European Civil Protection Mechanism, in which both Türkiye and Greece are members, adding that the earthquake response served as further proof of its importance and functionality.

The magnitude 7.7 and 7.6 quakes, centered in Kahramanmaras, rocked 11 provinces, including Adana, Adiyaman, Diyarbakir, Gaziantep, Hatay, Kilis, Malatya, Osmaniye, Elazig, and Sanliurfa.

Around 13.5 million people in Türkiye have been affected, as well as many others in northwestern Syria.