Chinese rescue team arrives in Turkey to help rescue quake victims

On February 8, 2023, staff unload materials from a chartered plane carrying a Chinese rescue team at the Adana Airport in Adana, T rkiye. PHOTO XINHUA NANJING - A 50-member Chinese civilian rescue team arrived in T rkiye on Wednesday to help rescue efforts after devastating earthquakes, with follow-up rescue forces on the move.

The first batch of the Blue Sky Rescue team, a professional non-profit search- and rescue organization, brought rescue dogs, rescue equipment and other necessary resources to support their work. Many of them have had international rescue experience.

Our normal working period is 12 to 15 days, but the actual time will be determined by the specific situation. Zhang Yupu, a BSR member from East China's Jiangsu province, once participated in the Wenchuan earthquake relief in 2008, said we will try our best to search and rescue survivors.

A team of around 60 members has been sent to T rkiye by the Amity Foundation, a Chinese non-governmental organization.

The team will carry out rescue work and provide aid to quake-affected victims, such as distributing clothes and food, and helping to improve sanitation conditions, according to the Jiangsu-based foundation.

Overseas Chinese companies are lending a helping hand. The employees of the local branch in T rkiye have been mobilized to join in the relief efforts, according to Chinese machinery giant Xuzhou Construction Machinery Group.

The company said that dozens of equipment including excavators and loaders have been deployed to rescue survivors and the first batch of relief materials like blankets and hygiene products have been sent to the earthquake-ravaged region.

READ MORE: China's Red Cross to help T rkiye, Syria after earthquakes.

More than 8,000 people had been killed after strong earthquakes jolted parts of T rkiye and neighboring Syria on Monday, according to data released by authorities and rescuers.