Foreign rescuers sent to Turkey to help rescue victims of the earthquakes that hit the country and Syria early last week are leaving the country, citing safety concerns.
This Sunday (12), the Israeli emergency medical service United Hatzalah, which had sent about 40 volunteers to southern Turkey, reported that it was ending rescue work early, after an initial forecast to keep the team in the country for ten days.
A spokesman for the organization told the website of the Times of Israel newspaper that the early return was motivated by two concerns: the proximity of the border with Syria and the Turkish city of Gaziantepe, where activity by the terrorist group State has been recorded over the years. Islamic State, and “growing unrest” among Turkish citizens over the Erdogan government’s faltering response to the earthquakes.
On Saturday (11), according to information from CNN, Germany and Austria made similar announcements.
The German Federal Agency for Technical Assistance has stopped rescue and relief work due to security concerns in the Hatay region, while the Austrian Army has taken the same action citing “the increasing aggression between groups in Turkey”, although it stated that it “will maintain forces of rescue and recovery in place”.
The White Helmets announced on Friday (10) the end of rescue work in rebel-held areas in northern and northwestern Syria, claiming that there was no more chance of locating survivors.
The latest official figures confirmed the deaths of 34,179 people due to the earthquakes in Turkey and Syria. In Turkey, 29,605 fatalities have already been recorded, while in the neighboring country there have been 4,574 deaths so far.
#Foreign #rescuers #leave #Turkey #security #reasons #deaths #exceed #thousand