“We’re very proud to be part of the Australian government’s disaster assistance response to the earthquake disaster here in Turkey,we are saddened at the amount of loss of life and the scale of devastation.”
Photos released by DFAT show the responders on the ground surveying buildings reduced to rubble.
Fire and Rescue NSW said the team included 52 firefighters and 68 urban search and rescue technicians.
The plant equipment was flown from Australia to Turkey along with food,water purification and first aid kits and tents for the responders to shelter and sleep in. They are on 12-hour rotations.
The equipment includes telescopic cameras to view under rubble,laser monitors that can detect building movement,and seismic detection devices that can pick up vibrations and activity that could suggest human life or movement.
Rescuers have also taken their own jackhammers,power drills,metal cutting gear,heavy lifting,concrete cutting chainsaws and roping systems.
“The FRNSW USAR experts have walked the streets of the city,viewing the widespread destruction and getting an understanding for the extremely challenging environment in which they are working,” Fire and Rescue NSW said in a statement.
Tom Bamforth,an Australian with CARE Turkey in Gaziantep,said his organisation was administering clothing,food,water and basic items like tents to those affected.
“It’s really,really cold,it gets down to minus five,minus seven,it’s cold during the day,so we’re trying to keep people warm with access to clean water,food and shelter,” he said.
“It’s just colossal. Reports from colleagues that some of the cities are beginning to smell[from the dead bodies],” he said.
He said the humanitarian sector was not immune with many workers having been personally affected through either the loss of family members,their own homes or workplaces.
The Albanese Government will contribute an additional $8 million dollars to the response,bringing the total to $18 million. The funding will support ongoing search and rescue efforts,but also provide lifesaving assistance,with a focus on protecting those made most vulnerable by the quakes,a government statement said. It will be split with $4.5 million going to Turkey (including $2 million to NGOs via the Australian Humanitarian partnership) and $3.5 million to Syria,in addition to $3 million committed to UNICEF.