B-FAST is set to set up the field hospital in the port city of Iskenderun

The reconnaissance team which flew on Wednesday afternoon (two days after the double earthquake in Turkey) from Melsbroek airport is tasked with preparing on the ground for the arrival of a much larger team in weekend. The latter will be responsible for setting up and running a large field hospital.

The reconnaissance team was on Thursday morning in the Turkish city of Adana, some 200 km from the city of Gaziantep, the epicenter of one of the two earthquakes. Pediatrician and emergency physician Gerlant van Berlaer is part of this team. “On the spot, we have the possibility of making contact in particular with the Turkish authorities and international organizations, by telephone or via the Internet, before going to the region most devastated by the earthquakes. We are not sure of have a connection there”, indicated the emergency doctor at the microphone of Radio 1.

In the meantime, the team decided to go to the port city of Iskenderun, in the Hatay province. It is one of the most affected in the disaster area. “In this city there are normally three hospitals, but none of them are currently functional,” said van Berlaer. “Understandably, as hospital staff are either looking for missing relatives or acquaintances or need to get to safety.”

“One of these hospitals has a large car park, where we could set up a field hospital. We still have to check if we have access to electricity and running water on site.”