Saudi rescue workers continue relief operations in earthquake-struck Turkey

Saudi rescue workers remained steadfast on Sunday in offering their assistance in regions of Turkey struck by a devastating earthquake last week.

In Gaziantep, workers from the Saudi Civil Defense continued their search operations for bodies and trapped survivors, using different technologies and devices during the process.

“We are currently [working] in a location among four others that the Saudi Search and Rescue Team has been working at. Large parts of rubble blocks have been removed in these places and [devices] have been used to detect bodies under the rubble,” Civil Defense spokesman Mohammad al-Hammadi said.

“The Saudi Search and Rescue Team has been working continuously since we arrived here,” al-Hammadi said.

He added that rescue workers deployed devices that monitor any vibrations that can cause buildings at risk to collapse, saying that this falls within the mission’s duty to protect those working at the rescue scene.

“In case of any danger, [this helps us] evacuate the location,” al-Hammadi said.

The deadly 7.8-magnitude earthquake that struck both Turkey and Syria has killed more than 28,000 people.

In addition to dispatching rescue and medic teams to assist on the ground in the regions affected by the earthquake, Saudi Arabia has sent a total of six planes carrying aid to Turkey after King Salman bin Abdulaziz and Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman directed operating an air bridge to help the victims of the earthquake.