“British Search and Rescue Team Joins Turkey Earthquake Relief Efforts”

A damaged building in Hatay, Turkey

British search and rescue specialists travel to Turkey to help find survivors after the earthquake that killed over 2,300 people.

A team of 76 rescuers will fly to Turkey on Monday evening.

Two 7.8 and 7.5 magnitude earthquakes have devastated parts of Turkey and Syria, reducing many buildings to rubble.

Turkish communities in the UK have been sending relief supplies to quake-hit areas since early Monday morning.

Secretary of State James Cleverly said the impact of the quake was “on a scale not seen in some time”.

More than 10,000 people are said to have been injured.

No Britons have yet been reported dead in the disaster, Mr Cleverly said.

The British rescue team “should be on the scene shortly to provide the assistance the Turkish authorities need to save as many lives as possible,” he said.

The UK is also sending specialist equipment, four specially trained dogs and a team of emergency doctors into what Downing Street said was “very first reaction”.

No. 10 said the government was looking at ways to support humanitarian operations in north-west Syria and that its first approach would be to work through the United Nations (UN).

Turkey’s disaster agency said more than 1,500 people died there, while an estimated 810 people died in Syria.

Those numbers are expected to increase as rescuers comb through mountains of debris in frigid, snowy weather.

The leader of the British Turkish Association said he was “inundated” with calls from people worried about their loved ones.

Attila Ustun described it as a “heartbreaking” day for Turks everywhere and said there was “a very big connection” between the Turkish communities of east and north London and the area where the quake struck.

He continued, “Some were born in the cities that are now a disaster area.”

Mr Ustun said people of Turkish background came forward after learning family members had died, including “a gentleman in Bedfordshire who lost three of his uncles in a property”.

He added: “I was inundated, I had a lady in London cry her eyes out and say half her village is now rubble.

“People call me and ask what they can do to help.”

The British Turkish Association accepts donations at various locations in the UK, particularly winter clothing.

Countries around the world pledged or offered support for operations in southeastern Turkey and northern Syria in the wake of the disaster.

Ebu Bekir Tezgel, chief imam at the Aziziye Mosque in north London, said many of their worshipers have relatives in the area of ​​Turkey where the earthquake struck.

He said prayers had been made for those affected and efforts were being made to send emergency aid.

“Everybody’s morale is very low, as you can imagine,” he told BBC News.

“Usually after prayer we’d stop and chat to sit around and chat a little — but that didn’t happen today.”

He said work is continuing to collect aid to send to Turkey and to identify members of the mosque who need special assistance.

Charities are also launching appeals, including the British Red Cross.

Chief Executive, Mike Adamson, said it was “shocking” to see the extent of destruction caused by this earthquake, with homes, hospitals and roads destroyed across the region.

“Right now, rescuing people from the rubble is a priority and Red Cross and Red Crescent teams are on the ground in Syria and Turkey providing urgent support during these critical hours.”

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