“Prepare for the apocalypse.” This was the direct and crude welcome received by Commissioner Daniel Iglesias, leader of the Argentine rescue team as soon as he arrived in Hatay, one of the areas most devastated by the earthquake that affected Turkey and Syria on February 6, which was already useful the death of more than 41 thousand people.
Mountains of rubble up to five meters high, entire cities destroyed, desolation, despair, and pain was the scene that the Argentines found when they stepped on Turkish soil. “One can be prepared to face situations of landslides or explosions, but working in a devastated territory like the one in which it had no comparison with anything. An experience that no one in the brigade will forget, ”added Iglesias in his talk with PROFILE, a few hours before starting the return to Argentina.
The officer of the Special Federal Rescue Brigade (Befer) of the Argentine Federal Police (PFA), is in charge of the Argentina USAR Brigade 12 (Urban Search and Rescue according to the international acronym), which made up 28 qualified search personnel technique, canine search, medical assistance, hazardous materials, and structural engineering, who traveled to Turkey together with four members of the Argentine Agency for International Cooperation and Humanitarian Assistance – White Helmets (Aciah).
As will be remembered, the Argentine team arrived on February 9 and after a week of working in the epicenter of the earthquake, they will return to the country in the middle of next week. “We were in that devastated territory from last Saturday until this Saturday (yesterday). In this type of mission, the rescue teams work for seven days, after which the search is left in the hands of the local authorities”, explained the head of the Argentine team.
Regarding the tasks carried out, Iglesias said that the sessions began at 7 in the morning, and after breakfast, the Turkish authorities distributed the areas that the brigades from the different countries involved had to cover. “First they sent us to more remote areas, but then we asked to go to areas closer to the epicenter of the earthquake. There we were proud to have rescued the three survivors last Wednesday. When we rescued them we hugged each other, we cried and we concluded from other brigades to congratulate us. It was an immense joy to have rescued that family alive, a situation that raised our team’s spirits. We were the only brigade to rescue people alive that day, ”Iglesias said, without hiding his emotion for what had been done.
Regarding this specific work, Iglesias said: “As soon as they indicated the place where there could be people alive, first the debris was removed and then the structural engineer evaluated whether the rescuers could enter. Once authorized, first the dogs entered, Akira and Indio, who detected the living people by their sense of smell and then the rescuers entered and we were able to get them out”, the PFA official demonstrated.
But they also live hard times. Especially in the delivery of lifeless bodies of minors. “Beyond the pain, we live rough situations with some relatives. They will stay next to the rubble and ask us to go in, not to stop looking. When they told us to leave the place, because there was nothing else to do, they didn’t understand it and they didn’t want us to leave. They were strong situations, which thanks to the understanding of the people we were able to resolve, ”Iglesias finally explained, before embarking on the return to Argentina.
Help from UNHCR
Hour after hour, the number of people affected by earthquakes and the number of fatalities grow exponentially.
Among those affected in Syria are families who have already found themselves displaced from their homes due to the crisis in the country, living in tents, precarious shelters and buildings in ruins.
In Turkey, there are thousands of Syrian refugees among the people affected by the disaster, as well as the communities that have hosted them for 12 years.
UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, works on the ground exhausted of basic necessities, such as thermal blankets, mattresses and humanitarian aid materials.
For those who wish to help from Argentina, they can do so from www.fundacionacnur.org
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