‘I haven’t seen such great people in my life’; NDRF wraps up ‘Operation Dost’ in Türkiye
Photo credit NDRF
By Our Special Correspondent
New Delhi, February 19: “I haven’t seen such great people in my life. They were so warm. They were so brotherly. The way they treat people lifted our morale,” Mine Kaya told a local news channel from the bed of the field hospital set up by the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF).
The final team of the NDRF, which consisted of relief and rescue personnel, doctors, paramedic and dog squads, returned home on Sunday from Türkiye. Seven flights carrying the NDRF teams had rushed to Türkiye to carry out the relief and rescue works after a devastating trails of earthquakes unleashed deathly trails in the country. The NDRF teams were airborne within 24-hour of the first earthquake, said Union Minister for External Affairs S Jaishankar recently on the sidelines of an event to suggest that India has a speed to respond to crisis in any parts of the world.
By last count, over 40,642 lost their lives in the aftermath of the earthquakes, according to Türkiye’s Disaster Agency (AFAD). The SAR efforts still continue at some places along with efforts to remove the rubbles at some points. Three persons were rescued on Saturday also.
The sniffer dogs of the NDRF helped in rescuing several people, including children, who were treated at the field hospitals set up by the Indian doctors. The NDRF field hospitals received spontaneous support from the local people, as doctors and pharmacists volunteered to extend their services.
The staff of the Adana Airport of Türkiye gave a warm send off to the NDRF teams as they wrapped up their rescue and relief operations to return home. The people of India reached out to Türkiye consulates in New Delhi, Mumbai and Hyderabad to pitch in with several relief materials, including food items, plastic materials for tents, blankets, warm clothes among others in their spontaneous outreach for the affected people of the quake-hit country.
The NDRF dogs Rambo, Roxy and others were widely covered by the local news channels for their remarkable efforts to alert the personnel about the people stuck deep in the debris. The dogs along with the personnel worked round the clock in challenging weather conditions as temperatures were sub-zero degree.
Yadu Vir Singh of the NDRF who manned the field hospital told the local reporters that the field hospitals took up a vacant school to set up the facilities where patients were divided in three categories for appropriate responses.
About The Author
