"You are able to rebuild your country": French rescue team shows solidarity with Turkish people

By Riyaz ul Khaliq

ADANA, Türkiye (AA) – Wishing Turkish people a quick recovery in the aftermath of devastating earthquakes, a French search and rescue team Thursday suggested avoiding un-trained people during disasters to save time for professionals.

“We lose time,” said Eric Zipper, leader of France’s Corps Mondial de Secours or Urban Search and Rescue, pointing to non-professionals joining core teams engaged in search and rescue.

The French spent nine days of relentless efforts to save lives in the aftermath of the Feb. 06 earthquakes that devastated southern Türkiye.

Along with two women rescuers, two doctors and two dogs, the team bid adieu to the “great” people of Türkiye taking a flight home from southern Adana province. They saved two people – an elderly woman and a young man in Malatya.

They also provided medical aid to people sick of cold and heavy dust-filled air due to debris and rubble from damaged buildings.

“Take care, be strong,” Zipper said in his message to Turkish people.

The French team hopes “you are able to rebuild your country,” he added.

“You are great, very kind and nice people…we don’t forget (those) we meet,” he said.

Zipper led his 14-member team to Malatya, Urfa and finally to Kahramanmaras – the epicenter of magnitude 7.7 and 7.6 earthquakes that affected more than 13 million people across nine other provinces – Hatay, Gaziantep, Adiyaman, Malatya, Adana, Diyarbakir, Kilis, Osmaniye, and Sanliurfa.

“It is very big, very sad,” Zipper said about the earthquakes, referring to widespread damages and loss of life caused. “It is the biggest earthquake,” the French humanitarian leader could recall.

While Zipper and his team prepared to enter Adana airport, barking by the two trained canines brought the attention of everyone towards the end of the French post-quakes mission.

“We are grateful to people who were kind to us, offering us tea, and cakes every day,” Zipper remarked as he led the team inside the airport.

About coordination with local groups, Zipper said it was “very easy” to communicate with Turkish Disaster and Emergency Management Presidency (AFAD) – the top coordinating body in Türkiye in the aftermath of the quakes’ disaster.

At least 36,187 people were killed while thousands of others were injured after magnitude 7.7 and 7.6 centered in southern Kahramanmaras province hit Türkiye.

More than 13 million people have been affected by the devastating quakes across nine other provinces – Hatay, Gaziantep, Adiyaman, Malatya, Adana, Diyarbakir, Kilis, Osmaniye, and Sanliurfa.

Türkiye issued a level-4 alert, calling in international aid, which drew more than 9,000 international search and rescue teams, including the 14-member volunteer group from France.

More than 249,000 search and rescue personnel are currently working in the field, according to AFAD.

Around 100 countries have offered assistance so far, with many having sent rescue teams.

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.

Türkiye’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said last Friday that the country is 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.