MOSCOW, February 15. /TASS/. Russian rescuers returned from Turkey early on Wednesday after completing their search and rescue mission in the earthquake-hit country, the press service of the Russian emergencies ministry told reporters.

"Planes of the Russian Emergency Situations Ministry landed in Moscow, carrying a team of rescuers and doctors on board. More than 150 specialists of the ministry had been dealing with the aftermath of the devastating earthquake in Turkey’s hardest-hit province since February 7," the statement says.

The rescuers were greeted by their friends and family members.

Rescuers of Russia’s Emergencies Ministry have been certified under the standards of the International Search and Rescue Advisory Group (INSARAG) that operates under the UN coordination humanitarian mechanisms. The Centrospas group has been certified as a ‘heavy class’ squad under the INSARAG international standards. Russia has three such groups, more than other countries.

Two powerful 7.7-magnitude and 7.6-magnitude earthquakes rocked Turkey’s Kahramanmaras province, located in the country’s southeast, on February 6. The tremors, followed by hundreds of aftershocks, were felt in ten provinces as well as in neighboring countries, including Syria. In Turkey, the quakes claimed more than 35,400 lives and more than 105,000 people were injured.