A firefighter has spoken about the "tough" rescue operation he is carrying out in Turkey after the devastating earthquakes.
Martin Foran, a station manager for Heywood and Ramsbottom, has been working alongside Steven Pennington, a firefighter from Leigh, as part of the UK International Search and Rescue Team (ISRAR) to help rescue victims of the Turkey and Syria earthquakes.
The firefighter revealed the gruelling process involving drilling through concrete and digging tunnels to get to people trapped underneath fallen buildings.
A spokesman for Greater Manchester Fire and Rescue Service said: “We've been bringing you updates from our team in Turkey as part of UK International Search and Rescue Team.
“Martin Foran (station manager of Heywood and Ramsbottom) is Ops Commander, and he talks us through what they’ve been working on and how they're bringing their specialist skills and equipment to the rescue.”
In a video, Martin talks to the camera about the work the team have been undertaking.
He said: “We’ve been in Turkey for over a week now.
“We’ve been performing many rescues every day.
“The start of the week involved a lot of admin, like setting the camp up.
“At our base of operations, we have got command and control tents, welfare tents, medical tents.
“The crews then went out to the ground to do some initial searching to try and find where alive victims were.
“This involved talking to local responders and doing technical search with seismic and acoustic listening devices.”
The firefighters use a K9 team to try and locate the casualties and then move on to the rescue phase of the operation.
This involves heavy tunnelling and breaking through concrete, using the full arsenal of tools available.
We've been bringing you updates from our team in #Turkey as part of @UK_ISAR_TEAM
— Greater Manchester Fire & Rescue Service (@manchesterfire) February 14, 2023
Martin Foran (Station Manager Heywood & Ramsbottom) is Ops Commander and he talks us through what they’ve been working on and how they're bringing their specialist skills & equipment to the rescue pic.twitter.com/SPAFJDBTBo
Martin said: “It’s been a really tough week, done a lot of walking around.
“The traffic in town has been absolutely awful. The road networks are severely damaged, so it’s involved a lot of walking.
“Mainly high rise building collapses that we’ve been looking at.”
Last week, Leigh firefighter Steven helped in the rescue of a woman carried out from the ruins of a building in Hatay, Turkey, one of the worst affected areas of the earthquake.
Martin praised the team for how well they have been working together to save as many people as possible.
READ MORE:
Leigh firefighter helps save woman from rubble after earthquake
Turkey earthquake: Local firefighters part of rescue efforts
Amir Khan Foundation working with Turkish Airlines after earthquake
He said: “The middle of towns has been absolutely devastated and it has been difficult to get kit and equipment and just generally moving around has been really difficult.
“All the crew have been phenomenal this week and have performed absolutely out of their skin.”
More than 35,000 people have died following the earthquakes.
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here