Pentagon sends USAID search and rescue teams to Turkey
Two American emergency response teams departed for Turkey Tuesday following deadly earthquakes believed to killed more than 5,000 people.
Two urban search and rescue teams from the United States headed to Turkey early on Tuesday to join local authorities and emergency workers from all over the world in recovery efforts following Monday’s deadly earthquake.
Rescue teams from Virginia Task Force-1 and the Los Angeles County Fire Department departed early this morning aboard US military aircraft from Dover Air Force Base in Delaware.
The combined teams included 161 personnel, 12 dogs and more than 170,000 pounds of equipment according to USAID, which is leading Washington’s response.
Why it matters: Monday’s 7.8-magnitude earthquake has devastated areas of southeast Turkey and northern Syria, leaving an estimated 5,000 people dead as of Tuesday morning and potentially trapping tens of thousands more.
