The Pakistan Army’s Urban Search and Rescue Team received special recognition from the Turkish government for their relief activities during the earthquake crisis.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan conferred a special award on the team at a special ceremony held in Ankara, the capital of Turkey.
The swathes of Turkiye’s southeast witnessed devastating tremors on Feb. 6, killing more than 50,000 people, flattening towns and cities and leaving hundreds of thousands homeless.
The earthquake, centred in the Kahramanmaras province, affected more than 13 million people across 11 provinces, including Adana, Adiyaman, Diyarbakir, Gaziantep, Hatay, Kilis, Malatya, Osmaniye, Sanliurfa and Elazig.
Following the deadly seismic activity in the brotherly country, Pakistan was the first to dispatch a team to assist the local administration in rescue operation.
The Pakistan Army Urban Search and Rescue team comprising 33 members took part in the relief activities, which continued for 17 days.
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The team conducted search at 91 sites and rendered services at 39 different locations. It rescued eight people, including children, from the debris.
In addition, the Pakistan team rescued five other people with the help of other rescue teams. The Pakistan team also recovered 138 dead bodies from the rubble and handed them over to Turkish authorities.