ISTNABUL, Feb 8 (KUNA) -- Kuwait's Fire Force Colonel Ayman Al-Mufareh, said Wednesday that his team has started search and rescue operations in the earthquake-affected sites and affected areas in Turkiye.
Al-Mufareh, who is also head of Kuwait Fire Force delegation there, said in a statement to KUNA that the Kuwaiti team is currently in Islaheya area, one of the areas severely affected by quake that struck Turkiye recently.
He explained that the Kuwaiti search and rescue team consists of 45 members, including 40 rescuers, three medics, and two people from the Ministry of Information (a reporter and a photographer) to document and publish information on an up-to-date basis.
"Search and rescue teams are currently being dispatched to collapsed buildings," he added.
He explained that the Kuwaiti search and rescue team is currently conducting search operations in one of the buildings consisting of eight floors, indicating that according to the information, the building contains 60 people under the rubble.
"There is no information yet that there are survivors in the building," Colonel Al-Mufareh added, stressing that they are making great efforts to penetrate the collapsed roofs and go into the delicate parts inside the building and try to reach any survivors.
Al-Mufareh stressed search and rescue operations will continue and will not stop until they contribute to removing survivors trapped under the rubble.
In recent days, an earthquake struck southern Turkey and northern Syria, measuring 7.7 degrees on the Richter scale, followed by another hours later with a magnitude of 6.7 degrees and dozens of aftershocks, leaving huge losses of lives and property in the two countries.
Earlier, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan announced that the number of deaths due to earthquakes jumped to 9,057 people while the total number of injuries reached 52,979.
The number of demolished buildings reached 6,444. (end) ta.mb