PHOTOS: Hungary team rescues 12 from beneath Türkiye earthquake rubble, Wizz Air brings help - UPDATED

Hungary’s Hunor search team has rescued 12 survivors and retrieved the dead bodies of 7 others from under the ruins of a 20-storey apartment block that collapsed in Monday’s devastating earthquakes in Antakya, south-east Turkiye, the spokesman of the national disaster management said on Wednesday. Meanwhile, Hungary’s low-cost airline, Wizz Air brings help to the country.

Hungary’s rescue team the only one that works 24/7

Dániel Mukics said members of the team were working around the clock, in 8-hour shifts, at three sites in the area affected by the disaster. Mukics said sub-zero temperatures at night were reducing the chances of survival of people buried under the rubble, while the cold was also hindering the team’s work. The Hunor team was the first Hungarian search and rescue team that arrived in Türkiye, totalling 116 people and 19 rescue dogs.

Here are some photos:

Read also: Hungarian rescue team leaves for Türkiye

The Hungarian rescue team works on 16 thousand square metres. Although other rescue teams stop for the night, the Hungarians do not. They work around the clock to save as many lives as possible, Hungary’s disaster management authority wrote in a Facebook post. Their camp is only 3 minutes away from the operation site. They live in 9 tents, and 7 people sleep in each.

Wizz Air also helps

Meanwhile, according to the Budflyer Facebook page, a Wizz Air plane took off yesterday to bring help to Türkiye. The plane landed in Adana. Here is their post:

Tamás Menczer, state secretary at the foreign ministry, said no Hungarians had been reported among victims of the earthquakes in Türkiye. He said 55 rescue experts and 2 dogs were working in the Hunor team, along with other teams sent by Hungary’s Baptist Charity and the rescue service of Pest county, the Életjel team, and another team sent by Hungary’s counter-terrorism force. A further team sent by the Reformed Church’s charity is on its way to Türkiye, he added. According to the ministry’s information, 18 Hungarian nationals staying in the earthquake-hit area are safe and are not in need of major assistance, Menczer said.

Hungary helps in Syria

Speaking to public radio, Menczer said Syria had also requested Hungary’s assistance, adding that two Hungarian hospital units deployed in Syria earlier had been transferred to the earthquake-hit zone. He said the Hungarian government was in contact with Christian communities in that country through the Hungary Helps programme.

Péter Szijjártó, the foreign minister, said on Wednesday that the six Hungarian teams working in Hatay province have so far rescued 16 survivors, and he thanked them for their dedicated work. He noted that another team of Budapest Volunteer Rescuers has arrived in Turkey to join rescue operations. “This means that the Hungarian contingent will total 156 people and 28 rescue dogs,” Szijjártó said on Facebook.

Meanwhile, the Hungarian Ecumenical Charity said it is launching a donation drive for families in Syria in partnership with the local Middle East Council of Churches (MECC). The charity is also transferring 5 million forints to facilitate the first phase of the MECC’s work, it said in a statement. The charity will send aid containing food, hygiene supplies and blankets to the Aleppo region and provide accommodation to families in need, coordinated by staff members of its mission based in Iraq, it said.