- We had hoped that the basic structure of the city would be preserved, but the scene where everything was destroyed was beyond imagination,' says head of South Korean disaster relief team

- Won Do-Yeon and his 121-member team got to Türkiye soon after last year's devastating earthquakes, rescuing 8 lives from the rubble

- 'Hearing how a building, despite being originally six to eight stories tall, collapsed like a pancake, left me speechless,' says Won    

ANKARA

When twin catastrophic earthquakes struck southern Türkiye last year, Won Do-Yeon rushed with his disaster team to help in relief efforts in a region roughly the size of his home country, South Korea.

Won, who was leading South Korea's 121-strong search and rescue team, was shocked at the scene that greeted them as they touched down at Gaziantep Airport. They had expected that some of the buildings would have collapsed, but not on the sheer scale that had occurred.

"We had hoped that the basic structure of the city would be preserved, but the scene where everything was destroyed was beyond imagination. I may have experienced various situations before, but such a sight was a first for me," he told Anadolu in an interview.

Conducting their search and rescue efforts in Hatay province following the earthquakes of Feb. 6, which have been called the "disaster of the century," Won and his team were able to rescue of eight people from the rubble.

"We did our best to make decisions as quickly as possible with the desire to help our brotherly country in the best way possible," said Won, who also heads the Development Cooperation Bureau of South Korea's Foreign Ministry.

He emphasized that, upon hearing about the quakes, South Korea swiftly sent aid and started preparing to send a team to Türkiye, a country with which Seoul has had strong ties since the Korean War.

"In particular, were able to conduct the most rapid aid operation in our history by using a KC-330 military transport aircraft. This enabled us to start rescue operations in the field within the first 72 hours, which are often called the golden hours."

Pointing out that his team has prior served in 17 international rescue operations, he emphasized the crucial role played by their four rescue dogs Toba, Tina, Tori, and Haetae in reaching survivors during the search and rescue process.  

8 lives saved

On the third day, Won said, his team was able to save three souls even as hope dwindled with the end of the golden hours.

"In collaboration with our Turkish counterparts, our team identified survivor responses during search operations and meticulously cleared debris from a collapsed building, from its roof to the bottom floor, hour by hour.

"With the dedicated efforts of our personnel and the warm support of Turkish authorities and the local community, we rescued a total of eight precious lives," he said.

Won pointed out that it was impossible to save everyone and that even after rescuing survivors, seeing the deceased had a deep effect on everyone.

He said he could still vividly remember the support his team received from many in the earthquake area. While some chanted, "Koreans are top-notch," other survivors offered their team food and blankets.  

'It was first for me, despite my previous experiences'

Won noted that the airport and its surroundings had suffered relatively little damage from the earthquake, leading them to expect that only a few collapsed buildings in the area before realizing the true extent of the devastation.

"The tragedy and sorrow deeply affected us as we confronted the collapse of a place where people lived. I may have experienced various situations before, but such a sight was a first for me.

"Hearing how a building, despite being originally six to eight stories tall, collapsed like a pancake, left me speechless. Reflecting on the fate of those living in that building fills me with immense sadness," he recounted.

Won also expressed his gratitude citizens for the local support during search and rescue operations.

"I felt both sorrow and a sense of responsibility. Despite knowing our team did everything to save more lives, I couldn't help but feel saddened and distressed, wondering if we could have done more.

"Last August, we established temporary accommodation sites and maintained local communication networks, showing deep interest in the recovery process. We'll continue striving to be a more effective emergency relief team for our friends in need," he added.

A total of 53,537 died in the earthquakes of Feb. 6, 2023, in southern Türkiye, while more than 107,000 others were injured.

The magnitude 7.7 and 7.6 quakes struck 11 Turkish provinces — Adana, Adiyaman, Diyarbakir, Elazig, Hatay, Gaziantep, Kahramanmaras, Kilis, Malatya, Osmaniye and Sanliurfa.

More than 14 million people were affected in Türkiye, along with many others in northern Syria.