India has sent 101 NDRF (National Disaster Response Force) rescuers with five women personnel and a canine squad to help earthquake-hit Turkey. According to reports, this is the first time in the history of the NDRF that women personnel have been included in a foreign relief team, trained to provide medical assistance and conduct rescue operations. The five women in the team include DRF sub-inspector Shivani Agarwal, who is an expert in search and rescue operations; healthcare specialist, Sushma Yadav; and constables Rakhi, Priyanka and Archana.
PK Tiwari, commandant of the 8th battalion, said that India’s relief team is self-sufficient in terms of search and rescue operations. It consists of a rope rescue team, emergency medical responders, and a chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear team.
Along with the NDRF, Agra’s 60 Para Field Hospital has dispatched a 99-member medical team comprising critical care specialists equipped with X-ray machines, ventilators, an oxygen generation plant, cardiac monitors and equipment to establish a 30-bed medical facility.
India’s External Affairs Minister, S Jaishankar, said in a Twitter post that the first flight had reached Adana in Turkey.
At least 100 aftershocks measuring 4.0 or greater have hit Turkey since the 7.8 magnitude earthquake struck the country on Monday, February 6, leaving thousands dead and homeless. According to reports, the earthquake has killed more than 15,000 people in Turkey and Syria.