The group of Argentine rescuers who traveled to Turkey after the earthquake that left more than 46,000 dead returned to the country on Wednesday after providing humanitarian aid for 10 days in the affected areas, where managed to rescue three people alive from the rubble nine days after the earthquakeit was officially reported.
“We proudly appreciate the work they carried out in the face of the disaster, with courage and solidarity,” said the Argentine Foreign Ministry through a Twitter message.
Our technical and humanitarian assistance team arrived from Türkiye, made up of civil volunteers from the State of @cascosblancos and the Rescue Brigade @PFAOficial.
We proudly appreciate the work they carried out in the face of the disaster, with courage and solidarity. pic.twitter.com/ZEewChLLLM
– Argentine Foreign Ministry ?? (@CancilleriaARG) February 22, 2023
“They demonstrated their humanitarian vocation and worked with the conviction of providing help for life and hope,” he stressed about the rescue brigade, which was received by their relatives at the Ezeiza airport with “National Pride” signs.
For her part, the The Turkish Embassy in Argentina also thanked on his Twitter account for the work of the local brigade and thanked Argentina for its help.
We are happy to receive the team from @WhiteHelmets who participated in search and rescue work in our country.
Friends through thick and thin ????? Thank you Argentina! pic.twitter.com/KCRC6HbsQ2
— Embassy of Türkiye in BsAs (@TCBuenosAiresBE) February 22, 2023
“We are happy to receive the @CascosBlancos team that participated in the search and rescue efforts in our country. Friends through thick and thin,” the embassy tweeted.
The USAR (Urban Search and Rescue) brigade, which was sent from Argentina to Turkey on February 9was made up of 28 highly qualified members of the Special Rescue Brigade of the Argentine Federal Police (PFA), who shared work together with four members of the Argentine Agency for International Cooperation and Humanitarian Assistance – White Helmets (Aciah).
The Foreign Ministry stressed that the team faced “dramatic situations in a professional and responsible manner” during the humanitarian work, which it joined together with rescue teams from France, Australia, Spain, Romania, among others.
The Argentine brigade returned after the Turkish government concluded rescue operations on Sunday after the earthquake, which will only maintain devices in the two provinces hardest hit by the earthquake.
Last Wednesday, nine days after the earthquake, the Argentine team managed to rescue three people alive who remained under the rubble in the devastated town of Hatay, which is still affected by the new earthquake that occurred this Monday, which left six dead and 300 people hospitalized.
According to the latest report released this Sunday by the Disaster and Emergency Management Authority (AFAD), the earthquake that shook the area on February 6, of magnitude 7.8 and whose epicenter was in Kahramanmaras, left more than 46,000 dead in Turkey and neighboring Syria, with more than 100,000 buildings collapsed or badly damaged.
