American search and rescue teams to start work Wednesday
Stephen Allen, USAID's Disaster Assistance Response Team leader for the agency’s earthquake response, said his top priority is getting two American urban search and rescue teams to the region.
"Every hour does count in the first few days,” he said.
The responders are en route to Turkey, where they are expected to land at Incirlik Air Base in Adana Wednesday morning local time, Allen said. They’ll immediately start the long journey to Adıyaman, a city in southeastern Turkey that’s been heavily impacted by the quake, but has not had access to many search and rescue teams, Allen said.
The Americans are bringing about 170,000 pounds of specialized tools and equipment, including hydraulic concrete breaking gear, saws, torches, drills and advanced medical supplies to treat and triage the wounded, he said. They will also have about a dozen dogs who Allen said will play a “very key” role in looking for survivors strapped in the rubble.
Sending search and rescue teams to a disaster site so far away is “not something that we would normally do, frankly,” he said, however Turkey officials asked for assistance because its own considerable national search and rescue capabilities are outmatched by the “size and scale” of the devastation.
“I do need to emphasize the level of devastation, the level of damage, and the expected result in loss of life is massive. It’s massive,” he said.
-ABC News’ Shannon Crawford
