Chinese, Turkish people join hands for earthquake relief
Edited by Yang Jian. Subtitles by Yang Jian.
After hearing about the arrival of a Chinese rescue team, Turkish tour guide Emre Aslan immediately volunteered to serve as their guide and interpreter.
The 31-year-old guide from Kahramanmaras, one of the epicenters of the devastating earthquakes that hit Turkey and Syria on Monday, has been serving Chinese tourist groups for 10 years. He can speak fluent mandarin.
Turkish tour guide Emre Aslan puts on the uniform of China's Ramunion rescue team to serve as a guide and interpreter.
"I feel grateful to the Chinese rescuers," Aslan said. "I'm familiar with the situation across Turkey and I will accompany them during the whole rescue mission."
China's first batch of national and civilian rescue forces reached Turkey on Wednesday to help with earthquake relief and rescue efforts.
Members of a Chinese rescue team arrive at Adana Airport in Adana, Turkey, on Wednesday. The 82-member team landed at 4:30am local time on Wednesday after flying over 8,000 kilometers on a chartered Air China flight.
The earthquakes had killed more than 9,500 people in Turkey and Syria as of Wednesday afternoon local time.
The 82-member China Search and Rescue team arrived at Adana Airport at 4:30am local time on an Air China chartered flight from Beijing. They brought with them 21 tons of rescue, communication and medical materials and equipment, along with four rescue dogs.
China's civilian rescue teams, including the Zhejiang Ramunion, Beijing Blue Sky and Shenzhen Rescue Volunteers Federation, have also arrived or are on their way to Turkey.
Emre Aslan meets up with He Jun, the leader of the Ramunion rescue team to Turkey, at Istanbul airport on Wednesday.
Aslan met up with the eight veteran Ramunion members at the Istanbul Ataturk Airport on Wednesday morning local time and put on the team's uniform to become one of its foreign volunteers.
"The situation in my hometown is awful," he said. His parents woke up early in the morning and rushed out of their two-story home to survive following two 7.8-magnitude earthquakes and numerous aftershocks.
"Most of my family members and friends in Kahramanmaras have lost their homes or have been buried under debris," Aslan noted. "I cannot wait to return home with the rescue team."
His parents have been forced to stay in a tent, while some other family members are living in their cars. Many people could not find a shelter in the frozen weather, he pointed out.
The veteran Ramunion team boarded a Turkish Airlines flight in Hong Kong on Tuesday night, carrying life detectors, dismantling tools and a rescue dog.
Peyami Kalyoncu, the Consul General of Turkey in the Chinese special administration region, greeted and thanked the Ramunion team at Hong Kong airport.
When posing with the Chinese rescuers, the consul general turned the national flag of Turkey upside down, a convention to send a message that the country is under a great suffering and requires help.
Peyami Kalyoncu (third left), the Consul General of Turkey in Hong Kong, greets the Ramunion rescuers at Hong Kong International Airport.
They arrived at the Istanbul Ataturk Airport at around 6:30am local time on Wednesday. From there, they took another flight to the core earthquake-hit region in Adana with volunteers such as Aslan and other foreign rescue teams.
The second team of Ramunion with 14 rescuers and another rescue dog will arrive on Thursday.
"We may face major challenges such as the shortage of heavy rescue equipment that could not be brought onto the flight," said He Jun, the leader of the Ramunion team to Turkey. "But we will have to overcome that anyway."
He, who is also the founder of Ramunion, has taken part in 17 international rescue missions.
The Beijing Blue Sky assembled the first batch of 60 experienced rescuers. The members from across the country met up at the Wuhan Tianhe International Airport in central Hubei Province on Wednesday noon to board their flight to Istanbul.
They are carrying demolition tools, thermal cameras, drones, life detectors, satellite phones and two rescue dogs along with other rescue equipment, according to Cao Weiwei, an official with Blue Sky.
"The situation is unclear at the epicenter, so every member has prepared about five days of instant food along with camps and thick clothes," said Cao.
The 60 members of the Beijing Blue Sky Rescue Team assembled at Wuhan airport.
Zhu Yanjun, one of the few female members of the Blue Sky team, said she applied to take part in the mission immediately, without consulting her family. She joined the rescue team four years ago and is a professional on first-aid and other medical services.
"I want to help more people with my professional skills," Zhu stated. "I feel no regret despite the dangers and challenges ahead, such as the extreme cold weather in Turkey."
The Wuhan traffic police dispatched four motorcycles and several vehicles to guide the team's buses to the airport, a high-profile etiquette to thank the Blue Sky rescuers who rushed to Wuhan after the COVID-19 outbreak in 2020.
The Amity Foundation, a Chinese non-governmental organization, has also sent a team of around 60 members to Turkey.
They will carry out rescue work and provide aid to quake-affected victims, such as distributing clothes and food and helping to improve sanitation conditions, the Jiangsu-based foundation told Xinhua News Agency.
The Beijing Blue Sky Rescue Team members pose at Wuhan airport.
Overseas branches of Chinese companies are also lending a helping hand. Chinese machinery giant Xuzhou Construction Machinery Group has mobilized employees of its local branch in Turkey to join in the relief efforts.
Dozens of equipment, including excavators and loaders, have been deployed to rescue survivors and the first batch of relief materials like blankets and hygiene products has been sent to the earthquake-ravaged region.
