- A four-member dog squad from India is engaged in rescue operations.
- The squad team has four Labradors – Julie, Romio, Honey and Rambo.
- The squad is expert in sniffing and specially trained to help in rescue operations.
- These dogs are considered ideal for rescue work as they can smell humans trapped underneath concrete and metal.
A four-member dog squad from India is engaged in rescue operations in earthquake-hit Turkey with their colleagues from the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF). The squad team has four Labradors – Julie, Romio, Honey and Rambo. Two separate NDRF teams left for Turkey on Tuesday along with the dogs.
The squad is expert in sniffing and specially trained to help in rescue operations. Along with the NDRF teams, the dog squad is helping to search and rescue those trapped under debris in the areas affected by the massive quake that hit Turkey on Monday. The NRDF team in Turkey said that the dog squad has been very helpful in the rescue operations. They also said that Julie, the female dog, was the one who identified live victims and helped the team save precious lives. The Sniffer dog Rambo was also leading from site to site in Gaziantep searching for possible survivors despite the winter cold. They have sent a signal of life from the debris of a multi-storeyed building in Gaziantep, where millions have been left homeless.
“These dogs are very trained to trace live victims. Rambo barked in the morning and just now it also barked. They are our actual strength. We start searching for the victims on their signal when these sniffer dogs start barking”, the Second-in command of the Indian contingent, told the media . These dogs are considered ideal for rescue work as they can smell humans trapped underneath concrete and metal.
Till now, more than 24,000 people have died in Turkey and Syria and thousands more are injured.
Among the worst affected regions in Turkey are Kahramanmaras and Antakya. Round the clock rescue operations are going on in the affected areas to search for those trapped under the rubble of fallen buildings. The freezing cold in the area has made the condition worse. Without food, electricity, medical necessities and proper shelters, the survival of people has become a challenge.
Apart from the staggering death count, the economy of the country has also been majorly affected. To help, the World Bank has pledged to give $1.78 billion in aid to Turkey to help with relief and recovery efforts.
