Hatay is one of the provinces that has been most severely affected by the February 6 earthquake in the Middle Eastern country. According to the Turkish disaster management agency, more than 6,400 buildings have collapsed as a result of two major earthquakes and more than 430 aftershocks which hit last week.
Located approximately 1,100 kilometres from Istanbul and close to the Syrian border, Hatay endured the most damage from the magnitude-7.8 earthquake that shook both Turkey and Syria on February 6.
As part of relief efforts, the Vietnamese team began their search and rescue operation on February 14 in Haci Omer Alpagot commune of Antakya city in Hatay province of Turkey.
They have had to work in chilly weather conditions, with temperatures dropping to minus two degrees Celsius at night.
While on duty, they were asked for help by local residents who have their relatives stuck inside the rubble of collapsed buildings along Rustem Tumer Pasa street in Antakya.
Under the leadership of Major General Pham Van Ty, deputy director of the Search and Rescue Department under the General Staff and Deputy Chief of the Standing Office of the National Committee for Incident, Disaster Response, and Search and Rescue, Vietnamese military rescuers and their sniffer dogs were able to find the locations of three victims at 11:00, 16:45, and 18:00.
They then united with local rescue force in order to pull a body from the rubble, whilst the two remaining were brought out by the Turkish force.
The team is continuing to urgently search for victims who remain trapped in the rubble caused by the deadly earthquake in the area.
