On the sixth day of the monster earthquake in Turkey, rescuers are still trying to hear the sounds of life under the destroyed buildings.
And they find them – our team also witnessed this. Yesterday in Kahmaranmarash – the city among the hardest hit by the disaster, a Bulgarian team of volunteers pulled out survivors and gave them a chance for a second life.
Our firefighters, volunteers, dogs, people from the Metropolitan Municipality, doctors have been here since the first day in the cities of Kahramanmaras, Adana, Besni and Antakya. Some of them have already managed to win the race against time of the life expiring under the debris. We meet you with these brave people.
The conditions in the Bulgarian camp near Kahramanmarash are harsh – cold, in tents, without heating and on duty in several shifts – 24 hours a day.
All are volunteers who have taken unpaid leave from their jobs to be here.
Pavel from Plovdiv works in a bicycle manufacturing company, but his time and efforts here are worth it.
“We finished our work day by searching two apartment buildings of 5 floors that had collapsed. We found and confirmed the death of one person, we also confirmed the absence, unfortunately, of any living people under the ruins. At the end of the operation, when we gathered at the cars to do a short operation and analysis of what had happened, I didn’t see where a child appeared – a girl with an apparent age of about 4-5 years, who was holding a sandwich. He approached my colleague and directly handed him the sandwich and snuggled into his leg. Which we all very touchingly accepted,” commented volunteer Pavel Slavov.
Half of the buildings in this million-strong city and nearby villages have been razed to the ground.
However, the efforts of these people are paying off – the Bulgarian rescuers have been finding living people under the debris for several days now.
“The feeling of finding a survivor under the rubble, especially considering that the earthquake happened five days ago, the temperatures here reach minus ten degrees, and we still find a survivor and he is rescued, taken to a medical facility – the feeling is incomparable. And it strengthens us and gives us hope, and motivates us to keep working non-stop,” he also shares.
Despite the cold, lack of sleep and extreme physical exertion, the biggest challenge for these 33 Bulgarian men and women far from their homeland lies in the eyes of the local people.
“The hardest thing is to bear the sight of people looking at you, knowing that there is some hope, however small, of finding their loved one alive under the collapsed building. For me personally, this is the most difficult – to accept how people look at us with hope and with tears in their eyes at the same time”, says Pavel.
Meanwhile, due to skirmishes between armed groups in the southern Turkish province, an early termination of the search actions was announced. The German and Austrian rescuers stopped their work on the spot.
The Austrians managed to bring 45 tons of equipment and machinery. And so far they have managed to save nine human lives. However, now there is a risk to their lives as well. There is no evidence that there are Bulgarian rescuers in Hatay.
However, dozens of our compatriots tirelessly and under very difficult conditions continue to search for survivors under the remains. About three hours ago, a team found another person alive with the help of a dog in the Kahramanmarash area
