Mona Al-Hamoudi (Abu Dhabi)
As part of Operation “The Gallant Knight 2”, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, in coordination with the Ministry of Defense, succeeded in carrying out a medical evacuation of three citizens, and returning them to the country after they were moderately injured in the earthquake in Turkey.
The citizens, Muhammad Ahmed Al-Harmoudi, Ahmed Abdullah Al-Yassi, and Majed Muhammad Al-Hammadi, stated that they arrived in Istanbul, Turkey, on January 29 for tourism, and stayed there for five days, and then went to the city of “Antakya” on February 3 for tourism, and to attend the activities of a game tournament. “billiards”.
They pointed out that the first days of their arrival were calm, and there were no indications of the possibility of an earthquake in the region, until the first tremor began at four o’clock in the morning on the third night of their arrival, and it was light, and they considered it dreams of sleep, until the tremors increased little by little and became Strong and the walls and ceilings began to fall over them, and they became unable to open the doors of their rooms, and they had to break them and get out, and help each other to break the doors.
They pointed out that the tremors of the earthquake were stopping for a while and then returning with force, and at that time they were running barefoot in the corridors of the hotel in search of shelter to get out, and at the same time they heard the sounds of people screaming around them, and they were able to take out three people with them of German and Syrian nationalities who were begging for help. them in the corridors.
They said: «We were staying in separate rooms close together on the third floor of the hotel, but we were keen to find each other, and try to save those we saw in the corridors, especially since the first and second floors and the reception on the ground floor were in a state of complete collapse, until we found a window through which we jumped to get out, Then the building collapsed minutes behind us.”
They stated that despite their injuries to their hands, feet, and backs, they tried to go to a safe area to avoid the consequences of the earthquake, which was affecting the entire area, by the collapse of buildings around them, with the presence of cold weather, a storm, and heavy rain.
And they said: “We were able to communicate with a friend of ours in Turkey, who took us to a high mountainous area to protect us from the earthquake, and then we began to communicate with the country’s embassy in Turkey, by going down from the height of the mountain for a distance of about 10 kilometers to receive the transmission signal, which was difficult to obtain on the mountain.” .
They added, “We received a quick response from the country’s embassy and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, and they were in constant contact with us around the clock to check on us and try to cross us to safety, and get us out of the earthquake zone to another safe area in various ways.”
And they continued: «After two and a half hours, with continuous vibrations, we arrived at a bus station in the (Adana) region, where the state embassy received us, and then we went to a safe hotel, after the young men refused to go to the hospital for fear of the earthquake, and preferred to go to the airport directly.”
They explained that as soon as the Emirati plane arrived at the airport, it was carrying a medical team on board that provided first aid and treatment, and after a few hours the plane flew us to return home, indicating that they were received by ambulances, and then transferred to the hospital for treatment.
The three citizens praised the efforts of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation and the country’s embassy in Turkey and the efforts of the Ministry of Defense aimed at protecting citizens and providing them with rapid response in emergency situations, considering their experience as an example of the level of excellence reached by the competent authorities in the UAE in providing emergency aid and assistance to citizens outside the country. .
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