ADIYAMAN, FEBRUARY 16, ARMENPRESS. Hours after the catastrophic earthquakes devastated parts of Turkey, an Armenian search and rescue (SAR) team was already on its way to the southeastern part of the country to assist in the earthquake response efforts in Adiyaman, one of the worst-hit cities. 

On 6 February 2023, a catastrophic and destructive Mw 7.8 earthquake struck southern and central Turkey, as well as northern and western Syria. It occurred 34 km west of the city of Gaziantep with a Mercalli intensity of XI (Extreme). A Mw 7.7 earthquake occurred nine hours later centered 95 km to the north–northeast in Kahramanmaraş Province. 

More than 36,000 were killed in the earthquake in Turkey, according to latest information. Over 100,000 people were injured in what was described by the World Health Organization as the "worst natural disaster" in 100 years in the region. 

Today, 10 days since the catastrophe, the SAR teams sent by various countries and organizations in Adiyaman are the last hope for tens of thousands of local residents.

The highly acclaimed 27-man Armenian SAR team actually has its 28th member – Jack, a highly trained Belgian Shepherd SAR dog who was praised for his work. 

With 8 years of SAR experience, Jack gained popularity and authority among the international rescue teams in the southeastern Turkish city. The Armenian SAR team rescued two survivors from the rubble in Adiyaman, and it turns out that Jack had his life-saving contribution in the work.

Jack waits for instructions 

“Jack did a very good job, he got adjusted to the terrain. He completed every objective. One time the Pakistani rescuers deployed here asked our command for Jack’s help. Naturally we said yes, and with Jack’s help they were able to save a survivor from under the rubble,” rescuer Onik Vardanyan from the Armenian SAR team told ARMENPRESS. 

We saw that Jack gets instant attention from everyone on February 15, during the Armenian Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan’s trip to Adiyaman where he visited the Armenian SAR team and supervised the delivery of the second batch of humanitarian aid. Armenia’s Special Representative for normalization with Turkey, Vice Speaker of Parliament Ruben Rubinyan and his Turkish counterpart Serdar Kilic were also in Adiyaman.

Minutes after arriving in Adiyaman, Ambassador Kilic started petting the dog and playing with him. “He’s a good boy,” said Ambassador Kilic, and posed for a photo with Jack.

Ambassador Serdar Kilic posing for a photo with Jack

The full scale of the destruction in Adiyaman is difficult to fathom. Rubble is all that remains from hundreds of buildings. Thousands of people are now sheltered in tents set up in streets in temperatures nearing 0 degrees Celsius.

A damaged building in Adiyaman

“We are rescuers, we must be here if our help is required,” said Captain Vahe Gevorgyan, the commander of the Armenian SAR team, when asked how he felt when being deployed to a country which has historically unresolved and painful issues with Armenia. “Of course, there are some psychological moments, but we try to suppress them. On many occasions, citizens of Turkey, Turks and Kurds, approached us and thanked us for coming here to help. There were also ethnic Armenian citizens of Turkey who came to express gratitude,” the captain said, adding that they successfully cooperated with foreign rescue teams, including Turkish rescue teams.

Chief Corporal Aghas Avetisyan

Mountain para-rescuer, Chief Corporal Aghas Avetisyan said that the internationally-qualified Armenian SAR team is ready to fulfill any objective. He said that there were problems during the mission but it wasn’t impossible to overcome them. “Our work was difficult because we don’t speak Turkish, we couldn’t freely speak with everyone. But we excellently completed our mission and we are impatiently waiting to return home,” he said.