RAWALPINDI: The Turkish government gave special honour to the Pakistan Army’s Urban Search and Rescue Team for their humanitarian efforts during the earthquake catastrophe.
At a special event conducted in Ankara, Turkey’s capital, the team received a special honour from President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
On February 6, large areas of Turkiye’s southeast saw catastrophic tremors that killed more than 50,000 people, destroyed towns and cities, and rendered hundreds of thousands homeless.
More than 13 million people in 11 provinces, including Adana, Adiyaman, Diyarbakir, Gaziantep, Hatay, Kilis, Malatya, Osmaniye, Sanliurfa, and Elazig, were impacted by the earthquake, which had its epicentre in the Kahramanmaras province.
Pakistan was the first nation to send a team to help the local government with a rescue effort after the fatal earthquake activity in the friendly nation.
The 17-day relief effort included participation by the 33-member Pakistan Army Urban Search and Rescue squad.
At 91 places, the crew performed searches, and at 39 sites, it provided services. It extricated eight individuals from the rubble, including children.
The Pakistani squad also assisted other rescue teams in the recovery of five other victims. Additionally, 138 dead remains were found within the wreckage by the Pakistani crew, who then turned them over to Turkish authorities.
