Earthquake in Turkey: Mexico sends its famous search and rescue dogs

At least 16 dogs have been shipped to Turkey from Mexico

Mexico is sending some of its famous search and rescue dogs to Turkey to help search for people buried under rubble after Monday’s earthquake.

A plane with 16 dogs on board took off from Mexico City on Tuesday.

Seismic Mexico has highly specialized civilian and military teams that are often deployed to help with disasters.

The dogs won the hearts of Mexicans during the 2017 earthquake when they saved several lives.

A yellow Labrador Retriever named Frida gained international notoriety when she was spotted in Mexico City wearing goggles and boots searching for survivors.

Frida became Mexico’s most famous rescue dog after rescuing 12 people and finding 40 bodies

The Navy credited Frida with saving 12 lives and locating 40 bodies in operations in Mexico, Haiti, Guatemala and Ecuador.

While Frida died of old age last year, at least one of her fellow canines from the 2017 Mexico earthquake will be part of the Mexican Navy team traveling to Turkey.

Ecko, a Belgian Malinois, was spotted with his Navy handler at the Mexico City airport.

Ecko is one of those sent to Turkey

But the mission is not just military. The civilian search and rescue group Los Topos de Tlatelolco (The Moles of Tlatelolco) is also on the move.

The group of very experienced volunteers had sent a message to Mexican Foreign Minister Marcelo Ebrard offering their help.

Within hours, Mr. Ebrard replied that transportation had been arranged for them with the help of the Turkish Embassy in Mexico City.

The foreign minister also posted a video of a Red Cross member with his four-legged companion on board the plane.

At the recordingÁngel Daniel Hernández says he has been training his German shepherd Rex since adopting him five years ago.

Mexico isn’t the only country sending dogs to help with rescue efforts in Turkey and Syria.

Croatia, the Czech Republic, Germany, Greece, Libya, Poland, Switzerland, the United Kingdom and the United States also use dogs with their handlers.

The animals are often deployed in areas where the use of heavy machinery could cause the debris to collapse further, endangering the lives of survivors.

The dogs are trained to sniff out humans and alert their handlers by barking and scratching the ground where the scent is strongest.

Mexican officials say their mission is to “save lives,” and while the dogs can detect the scent of dead bodies as well as those buried alive under the rubble, there is hope their swift action will lead to rescues rather than to salvage will lead.

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