KAHRAMANMARAS /Turkey/, February 7. /TASS/. The first team of Russian Emergency Situations Ministry rescuers that arrived in Turkey overnight has now reached its designated location in the country’s Kahramanmaras province, which was hardest-hit by the earthquake, and is set to start search and rescue operations on the scene in the near future, according to a TASS reporter.
The team had covered 200 kilometers of mountain roads from Adana to Maras. They will be stationed at a base of Turkey’s Disaster and Emergency Management Authority.
A total of more than 100 Russian rescuers arrived in Turkey, with equipment for search operations and victim retrieval. The equipment includes endoscopes, acoustic search devices that can detect a victim in the rubble at a depth of up to 4.5 meters, ground-penetrating radars and thermal sights. Rescuers will work around the clock, they brought with them drones for reconnaissance and monitoring from the air.
A magnitude 7.7 earthquake hit southeastern Turkey on Monday. Another powerful tremor struck a while later. According to the latest data, more than 3,300 people were killed in Turkey and more than 20,000 sustained injuries.