Determined to save lives: Chinese rescue team

It has been the fifth day since Monday's earthquakes struck the country, and the third day the Chinese team has been involved in rescue efforts. Continuous aftershocks, which have further damaged the structures of the already teetering buildings, greatly complicate the rescue conditions.

The severely quake-hit city of Antakya, Hatay Province in southern Turkey, is located on hilly terrain. The earthquakes barely left intact buildings in the urban area, and each of them was damaged to varying degrees.

"Aftershocks occur, possibly causing secondary disasters. This poses huge threats to our own safety," said Wang Mo, deputy leader of the Chinese rescue team.

I followed the Chinese team to the ruins of a building. The whole building seems to be squashed, burying people under the rubble. The team leader Zhao Yang told me that this is "the pancake collapse."

Long Tengfei, a team member explained to me that it means most beams, pillars and slabs of buildings overlap like pancakes. Rescuers have to get through this mess to reach the survivors, advancing while reinforcing the structures, which takes a large amount of time.

Despite these difficult conditions, the Chinese team's determination to help save lives remains unchanged.

Working with local counterparts on Thursday, the Chinese rescue team pulled out a pregnant woman to safety in the wee hours of the morning and saved two more people from the ruins of collapsed buildings later beyond the critical 72 hours of rescue. In the evening, another woman found in a basement was carried out by the team.

Hope remains, and we are wishing for more miracles to happen.