Hungarian Rescue Team Sent to Turkey

A 55-strong team from the Hungarian rescue organization ‘Hunor’ left Budapest on Monday for Turkey to help the victims of the earthquake.

The HUNOR Rescue Service team consists of professional firefighters, military doctors and ambulance staff. They are also taking two search dogs with them. The team is able to work 24 hours a day for ten days in two shifts and is completely self-sufficient in food, drink, heating, water, accommodation, energy and fuel, without the need to use the resources of the local emergency services.

The staff and 90 tons of equipment are transported by an Airbus 319 aircraft of the Hungarian Defense Forces from the Ferenc Liszt International Airport to Adana Airport in Turkey. After their arrival, the Turkish disaster management will direct the Hungarian rescue team.

The Hungarian rescue team has already participated in several exercises and EU missions, including those in Ukraine, Japan, Macedonia and the 2014 floods in Serbia. In Hungary, they were involved in rescue operations in the 2013 floods, and later in the snow emergency and a house explosion in the capital.