Balkans | Earthquake impression of Albanian rescuers: Nothing like this

After the earthquakes that hit Kahramanmaraş, which were described as the “catastrophe of the century”, search and rescue teams from Albania to Malatya said they had never witnessed such a devastating earthquake before.

After the earthquakes of magnitude 7.7 and 7.6 in Kahramanmaraş, the Albanian team, which came to Malatya, participated in the search and rescue efforts carried out by the disaster and emergency department, fire brigade, police, gendarmerie and NGOs in the wreckage of the destroyer. buildings.

The volunteer team completed its work with a total of 79 people, including search and rescue, doctors, nurses, miners, civilians and military personnel, over the course of 24 hours, rotating for 9 days.

Before leaving the city, the teams met the miners from Soma at the Disaster and Emergency Management Coordination Center and took a souvenir photo.

Colonel Elton Reso, commander of the 26th Special Operations Battalion, told Anadolu Agency that the Ministry of Defense took action after receiving the news.

“What we found here was a huge wreck and a disaster.”

Risso stated that they started working to rescue the people who fell under the rubble from the moment they arrived:

“On the first day, we brought a 4-year-old boy alive. Getting her out alive was a totally different feeling for all of us. It’s a really nice feeling to get out of this disaster alive. Turkey’s measures were at the highest level. They tried. Striving at the maximum level in stability and helping people and everything. There were different countries that Search and Rescue Command teams went to from Albania. But we have never seen anything like this. For others it was a complete disaster. What we found here from day one was a huge wreck and a disaster. Nonetheless “People were emotional and we both shared those feelings. Our costume and race may be different, but we really do share the same feelings in our hearts.”

Reso thanked Turkey for their hospitality and noted that they never felt alienated during the process and felt at home.

First Lieutenant Chrisman Merlika stated that he came to Turkey at the age of 15 and received training in a military high school and a military academy.

Merlica said that he stayed in Turkey for about 10 years. He said: “After the earthquake, I first called my dear friend at the military academy and said, ‘Brother, I will come.’ As soon as I heard about the earthquake, I called the battalion commander within 5 minutes and only asked him the time, and I said “When does the plane take off?” Use phrases.

“The magnitude of this earthquake was very severe.”

Merlika mentioned that she had previous training in different places and also received training in search and rescue teams, and said:

“We got into different wreckage with search and rescue teams, we did different search and rescue operations, but there was nothing like that. The magnitude of this earthquake was so great. I feel sad because the buildings are bad and because the funerals of so many people.”

Volunteer Durjan Aliko said that when he heard about the quake, he and his friends applied to the Ministry of Defence.

Pointing out that many volunteers from Albania would like to come, Aliko said: “Everyone, regardless of profession, applied a lot. They wanted to help a lot, not only in humanitarian terms but also financially, and there were requests. Albania was hit by an earthquake Great in 2019 and Turkey helped us. We share the same feelings. We are witnessing a great disaster and it is a very sad event. If there was any country, it could have experienced this disaster and earthquake in the same way, but the sad thing is that there are many people. This A very sad event.” Use phrases.

AA