THE Philippine team sent to Turkey is not only helping in the ongoing search and rescue operations for earthquake victims and survivors, but also giving Turkish disaster workers a crash course in quake-borne operations, the Office of Civil Defense (OCD) said on Sunday.
The delegation known as Philippine Inter-Agency Humanitarian Contingent (PIAHC), composed mostly of soldiers, has been working alongside Turkish volunteers, and is on its third day sifting through the rubble in the city of Adiyaman in southeastern Turkey.
Adiyaman was the mission area for the PIAHC, which was sent on Wednesday to help in the ongoing search and rescue efforts following the powerful temblor that hit the country on February 6. Turkish officials claimed the latest death toll has already breached 28,000.
A video provided by the OCD showed members of the Philippine team on Saturday giving Turkish volunteers —who have no training in search and rescue operations—a quick course on internationally-accepted principles of search and rescue as the local volunteers have been using backhoes.
On Sunday, OCD Assistant Secretary and spokesman Raffy Alejandro said the contingent has already checked nine collapsed buildings and found possible survivors. It has also provided assistance to other survivors.
One of the buildings that was checked was the Adiyaman Police Directorate Building.
In a radio interview, Alejandro said members of the contingent were in high spirits as they carried out their tasks.
The Philippine Embassy in Turkey said two Filipinos have been killed from the quake and this was confirmed by Weng Timoteo, vice president of the Filipino community in the country.
“Two are dead and another one is in the hospital right now,” Timoteo said.
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