Uzbek rescuer says he will remain in quake-hit Türkiye until end of rescue efforts

By Hikmet Faruk Baser

HATAY, Türkiye (AA) - An Uzbek rescuer arrived in Türkiye said on Thursday he will remain in the country until the end of search and rescue operations, as two powerful quakes jolted the country's southern regions last week.

"We rescued 70 people alive from the rubble. When we handed over the wounded to their families, both of us were very happy. We are here until the search and rescue efforts are over," Ubeydullah Rozmetov told Anadolu in an interview.

Noting that they came to the province of Hatay to assist in search and rescue operations, Rozmetov said they did so immediately after the news of the earthquakes.

"This is our country, too. We are happy to help Türkiye," Rozmetov said.

He also said that his team had never seen such an earthquake before, adding that they were assisted by those in the area.

"May Allah never show such a thing again. We started the rescue efforts together with the people here. We worked together with the beautiful approach of the Turkish people. They helped us a lot. They brought everything we had, including our food and water," he said.

At least 100 Uzbek rescuers have been working in Ovakent town of Hatay, according to the country's Emergency Situations Ministry.

At least 36,187 people were killed by the two strong earthquakes that jolted southern Türkiye on Feb. 6, the country's disaster agency said on Thursday in the latest figures from the natural disaster.

The Feb. 6 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.

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.