US rescue team returns home after relief efforts in Türkiye earthquakes

By Servet Gunerigok

WASHINGTON (AA) - A group of American rescuers who joined in relief efforts in earthquakes that hit Türkiye early February arrived in the US on Monday night.

Nearly 90 members of the Fairfax County Urban Search and Rescue team were welcomed by family members, Turkish Ambassador in Washington DC Hasan Murat Mercan, and Administrator of US Agency for International Development (USAID) Samantha Power with a ceremony in Virginia.

Mercan thanked the team members for rushing to aid the Turkish people affected by the quakes in southern Türkiye.

"From the bottom of our hearts: Thank you, thank you, thank you," Mercan said in his opening remarks. "We are grateful, for all that you have done in the aftermath of the quakes in Türkiye".

"We are indebted for you have risked your lives, had to pause your lives here at home and leave your families behind for this humanitarian cause," said the ambassador.

"We are thankful for you have been among the first to come to rescue of victims under the rubble, within hours of the first quake.

Power, for her part, praised the team for their works in Türkiye during "impossibly difficult conditions."

"By being there first, by being there early, you showed the truth of our commitment to our friends in Turkey and Syria," she said.

"You served our country well," she added.

The team arrived in Türkiye on Feb. 8, two days after two powerful earthquakes hit Kahramanmaras province as well as 10 other provinces.

Power and Mercan shook hands with each member while welcoming them inside the center in Chantilly. Outside, family members including children welcomed the team members who arrived in two buses.

More than 41,000 people were killed and over 105,000 injured by the two strong earthquakes that jolted southern Türkiye on Feb. 6, officials said Monday in the latest figures from the natural disaster.

The magnitude 7.7 and 7.6 earthquakes, centered in the Kahramanmaras province, affected more than 13 million people across 11 provinces, including Adana, Adiyaman, Diyarbakir, Gaziantep, Hatay, Kilis, Malatya, Osmaniye, Sanliurfa and Elazig.

The members joined rescue efforts in Adiyaman.

Mercan also stressed that since the first hours of the disaster, American people stood side-by-side with Turkish people.

"Türkiye will never forget the support and help extended by its friends, partners and Allies in the United States," he concluded.