The volunteers of the Hellenic Rescue Team (EOD) who went to the city of Antiyaman in Turkey, helping the Turkish forces, after the devastating earthquake of 7.8 Richter, were welcomed with applause at Macedonia Airport in Thessaloniki by their own people.

The vice consul of Turkey in Thessaloniki, Gökçe Over, was also at the airport, who gave a bouquet of flowers to the head of the mission, Ioannis Papastathi.

“Emotions are many, complex, mixed. At the airport, where we passed, they recognized us, saw our work and applauded us”, said Mr. Papastathis.

“A war has taken place there, a great disaster”, he underlined and added that the rescuers are not heroes, but the residents who will continue to face the difficulties. “Some people called us heroes, we are not the heroes, they are the heroes. We dealt with this for five, six, seven days. Temperatures -6, -7. They will continue, however.”

He said he left friends behind and they treated them very well. “We ventured into 13 buildings, each building had its own feelings. Thrills, you start there. Are there any alive? Everyone thinks their people are alive. You work, work, safely, above all and try to get results. We helped, some came out alive. Something unheard of, we also found dead people. Their own people also want the deceased, they want us to take him out. They know he’s dead, ‘please take him out’ they say”

The member of the mission, Danai Mavroudis, emphasized that “the conditions are difficult for those who are there. I am at home, back to my children. They have no home, they have lost children, mothers”

When asked about the most difficult moment he experienced, he pointed out that “from the time we arrived until the time we left it was a tragic situation, thousands of victims, all the families on the road, it’s all very heavy”.

As he said, as soon as he saw the magnitude of the disaster, he thought: “let’s do the best we can and as quickly as we can, because we know we don’t have much time.”

He also pointed out that the world embraced them. “Children came to bring us tea, poor people came to give us a hug. They said thank you to us, and they had also learned to say thank you in Greek. A few hours before their departure from the field and, specifically, on the evening of Monday, February 13, members of the EOD assisted and medically supported the Turkish rescue teams in a very difficult extrication of three people who were found alive in the debris of a building in the city of Antiyaman. This was one of many search and rescue operations carried out and supported by our volunteers, with the help of Speedy, the EMS search dog, from the first night of their arrival in the affected area. In total, EOD attempted 13 collapsed buildings, always operating under the direction of the Turkish AFAD and using all rescue equipment at its disposal.

Video – photo source: thestival.gr