After five days of an exhausting search for survivors in the earthquake area in Turkey and Syria, the first aid teams interrupt their work because riots are said to have broken out. The security situation is becoming increasingly tense.
Several international aid organizations have suspended their rescue work in the earthquake area in Turkey due to safety concerns. The Technical Relief Agency (THW) and the aid organization I.S.A.R Germany confirmed this approach, as did the Austrian Armed Forces.
According to various information, the security situation in the Hatay region has changed in the past few hours, THW and I.S.A.R. with. Search and rescue teams remained at the joint base camp in the city of Kirikhan for the time being. If there is a concrete indication that someone can be saved alive, they will still drive out, said THW spokeswoman Katharina Garrecht on site. THW and I.S.A.R further stated: "The reason for this seems to be, among other things, the shortage of food and the difficult water supply in the earthquake area."
I.S.A.R operations manager Steven Bayer said: "It can be seen that the sadness is slowly giving way to anger." Tamara Schwarz, spokeswoman for the THW headquarters in Bonn, spoke of "tumultuous scenes". The protection of the volunteers is now a priority. However, the teams stayed put.
Soldiers from a disaster relief unit of the Austrian military had previously stopped their rescue work in Hatay province. "There is increasing aggression between groups in Turkey. Shots are said to have been fired," said Lieutenant Colonel Pierre Kugelweis from the Austrian Armed Forces of the APA news agency. However, the Austrian rescuers also remain on site and are available for further operations. 82 soldiers from the so-called Austrian Forces Disaster Relief Unit (AFDRU) arrived in Hatay on Tuesday with 45 tons of equipment and have so far been able to rescue nine people from the rubble.
According to the latest information, more than 24,000 people were killed in the devastating earthquake on Monday in the Syrian-Turkish border area. Thousands more are feared to die from the collapsed buildings. A 7.7 magnitude tremor shook the border area early Monday morning, followed by another 7.6 magnitude tremor at noon. Since then, there have been aftershocks in the region until Saturday morning in 1891, according to the Turkish civil protection authority Afad.
