Bulgarian rescuers found five survivors under quake rubble in Turkey

Bulgarian rescuers have found and pulled out five survivors from under the ruins in the quake-hit city of Kahramanmaraş in Turkey, the National Association of Volunteers in Bulgaria announced on February 10.

Despite freezing temperatures and difficult working conditions, about 30 people and a dog from the National Association of Volunteers in Bulgaria are on the ground around the clock and are among those helping to pull survivors out from under the rubble.

"Last night, one of the teams found three people alive at one location and referred them to the Turkish teams to reach them and rescue them, because we do not have heavy machinery equipment, and another part of this team at another location found two people alive who were pulled out," said Georgi Vlaikov, head of the volunteer team.

Fatigue is not giving way in the race against time, but the motivation to save lives is stronger.

"We are trying, that's why we came. Everyone is pretty tired. Here we are living in conditions like we are in tents at -12 degrees constant temperature, today it is even colder, no sunshine. The forecast is for snow in the next few days, so we are in a constant race against the weather," explained Georgi Vlaikov.

Bulgarian rescue teams are also in the town of Besni, where they are helping in the search for survivors. Again around the clock.

"We worked on 7 sites and managed to pull two victims out from under the rubble. A 4 year old child and a man. Our doctor was able to help the module of Poland, assisting them in a surgical operation under the rubble," firefighter Kaloyan Donchev told BNT.

After the initial shock, the injured people in Turkey are slowly beginning to realise what the dimension of the tragedy actually is. However, the victims know that they are not alone.

"I found out from a friend who works at Adana airport, where all the international aid planes land, that more than 500 planes arrivedin the past 3-4 days. The aid is very strong. It is appreciated by our friends and relatives that we Bulgarians were among the first to arrive to help," says Tsvetelina Tunteva, a Bulgarian in Adana.

For those who survived and for those who helped, accepting the real dimensions of the disaster is still difficult. But both have no time to think now, because the hours in which rescue is possible are dwindling.

Images by the National Association of Volunteers in Bulgaria