Nadia McDonald
Andalucia will join the rest of the world in a desperate mission to rescue survivors from a devastating 7.8 magnitude earthquake in Turkey.
Junta de Andalucia president Juanma Moreno announced on Tuesday that the province would ‘join the wave of solidarity’ and aid the European Civil Protection Mechanism in its rescue mission.
So far the death toll has surpassed 5,000 in Turkey and Syria after a 7.8 magnitude quake hit the border of the two nations on Monday morning, and then rocked by a second 7.7 magnitude tremor.
Four firefighters from Huelva have already departed for Turkey as part of the United Firefighters Without Borders (BUSF) contingency.
In total 10 firefighters and three doctors are joining the effort, including specialist dogs trained in rescue operations.
Three contingencies from the Provincial Firefighters Consortium of Malaga are also collaborating in the search and rescue missions alongside four trained dogs, who will be crucial in finding people given the harsh weather conditions facing the region.
The dogs are trained according to the Arcón method, developed by a Sevillian over 30 years ago, which has proved to be highly successful in finding survivors amongst rubble.
On Monday evening three firefighters from Estepona and Ronda departed from Malaga airport to join other firefighters from different regions of Spain, however they were unable to land in the affected area due to excess air traffic.
Defense minister Margarita Robles told Telecinco the situation was “very chaotic” and that “the Turkish authorities are overwhelmed”.
“We are talking about 10,000 collapsed buildings and 30,000 deaths. The situation is terrible,” she added.
The other two contingencies made up of seven rescuers, including five firefighters from Coín, Manilva and Alhaurín de la Torre are departing for Adana today.
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