101 NDRF personnel leave for quake-hit Turkiye to aid rescue efforts

Two National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) teams, comprising 101 personnel, left for Turkiye on Tuesday to help in rescue operations after a 7.8 magnitude quake killed thousands of people in the country.

The federal contingency force is accompanied by two search dogs, four-wheeled vehicles, chipping hammers, cutting tools, first aid medicines and communication setup.

The personnel, drawn from teams based in Ghaziabad and Kolkata, boarded two Indian Air Force (IAF) C-17 aircraft from the Hindon air base in Ghaziabad, an NDRF officer told PTI.

The Turkey-bound group includes five women rescuers, a doctor and paramedics.

The NDRF teams will land at the Adana airport in south Turkey where they will meet a link officer from the Indian Embassy and Turkish government authorities for further deployment at affected areas, he said.

"This is part of the humanitarian assistance and disaster relief (HADR) measures announced by the Indian government on Monday for the earthquake-hit Turkey and neighbouring areas," the officer said.

The NDRF, dressed in their trademark orange dungarees, will help rescue people trapped under the collapsed structures and render all assistance as required by local authorities and rescuers from multiple other nations, he said.

The NDRF has been part of two similar international operations -- the 2011 Japan triple disaster (earthquake, tsunami and nuclear meltdown) and the 2015 Nepal earthquake.

The government on Monday decided to rush NDRF teams along with medical aid and relief material to Turkey following Prime Minister Narendra Modi's instructions to offer all possible assistance to the country.

The massive earthquake that struck Monday has killed more than 4,900 people and flattened thousands of buildings in Turkiye and neighbouring Syria. It was centred in Turkey's southeastern province of Kahramanmaras and was felt as far away as Cairo.