Turkish medics who experienced Van earthquake give all for victims in southern Türkiye

ADIYAMAN, Türkiye

The Turkish National Medical Rescue Team (UMKE) which experienced the Van province earthquakes in 2011 give it all to heal the wounds of those afflicted in Adiyaman province by the most recent tremors.

Medics from Van who participated in search and rescue efforts with other teams under the coordination of the Disaster and Emergency Management Presidency, AFAD, pulled out many victims from the debris.

Speaking to Anadolu, Sezen Onat from UMKE said the team set out for Adiyaman within 30 minutes after the tremors struck on Feb. 6.

“We had never witnessed such a great disaster but we had to be calm,” said Onat.

She said for the first two days, all team members continued to work without rest or even a sip of water.

The UMKE team rescued 40 people, she noted.

She said her team began to work on debris and managed to pull out a mother and father.

Onat said a woman hugged her while they were working in another collapsed building, saying; “I saw you in my dream. You will pull my child alive from under the rubble.”

“I had very emotional moments and I began to cry. We have worked very hard but touching a life is worth everything … I think we made a ceaseless effort.”

Recalling the devastating moments during the Van earthquake, Onat said: “We tried to reach our families after evacuating our patients immediately but the Van earthquake was not such a big disaster.”

Another UMKE member, Ayse Ozeler, said; “In our first case, there was incredible rain. The first case that we pulled out from under the rubble was Tugce, 20. Except for her head, her body was under rubble. We pulled Tugçe out in an hour.”

She said that there were two rescue stories she will never forget.

“At the 44th hour, we reached 66-year-old Faysal and calmed him down. Uncle Faysal was constantly asking what happened to his wife, but we had found her dead. He knew that his two children in the wreckage were dead.”

“He must have guessed that his wife might have died as well. He said: ‘My wife and children are dead, why did you take me out?’ He cried,” she said.

More than 45,000 people have been killed in Türkiye in the twin earthquakes.

• Adiyaman
• UMKE