Rescue teams in Turkish city of Hatay 'also under the rubble' - president said
We've been hearing a lot of criticism today aimed at the Turkish government over the the speed and efficacy of its response to the two quakes that hit on Monday.But Ilnur Cevik, special advisor to Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, said there were many challenges to grapple with in the aftermath of the disaster.Speaking to the BBC's Newshour, Cevik said getting aid to the affected areas was virtually impossible due to the damage done to infrastructure and the sheer scale of the disaster.Cevik said that in the city of Hatay, one of the affected areas, "the disaster management teams were also under the rubble, so there was nobody to help rescue the people". He added that getting resources to affected areas was difficult, with major roads unusable.“You can mobilise anything you want… if you can’t get them there it’s just theoretical," he said.Anger is growing in Turkey over beliefs that poor enforcement of regulations may have contributed to the collapse of many buildings in the recent earthquakes.When asked whether the government bears responsibility for letting buildings of insufficient standards be built, Cevik said: "You can have any building code you like… but if it’s a killer quake, that building is going to collapse."
SummaryTurkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan visits the disaster zone in his country as criticism grows over the official responseFamilies in some badly-hit areas have said the slow speed of rescue efforts means they have had no help digging to find relativesPresident Erdogan defends the response, saying it's not possible to prepare for disasters of this magnitudeMore than 11,000 people in southern Turkey and northern Syria are now known to have been killed in Monday's earthquakesErdogan acknowledged there'd been difficulties with the initial response but blamed delays on damaged roads and airportsIn Syria, the White Helmet group who are leading efforts to rescue people in rebel-held areas, say time is running out to save peopleDramatic footage and pictures are continuing to emerge of rescues in both countries
Buildings that have completely collapsed are usually the last to be searched, because the likelihood of finding survivors is very slim.
While rescuers attempt to reach survivors, support workers watch for building movements and listen out for human sounds.
Heavy machinery, like diggers and hydraulic jacks, can also be used to move larger bits of wreckage, while specialist video and sound equipment can aid the search for those trapped beneath.
Silence on the site is needed while a member of the rescue team bangs three times and hopes to hear a response.
Thermal imaging equipment, carbon dioxide detectors and specially trained sniffer dogs are also among the tools used to help detect human life.And - where the murmur of life is discerned - sometimes, it's a question of digging with your bare hands.And - where the murmur???