Hatay (VNA) – The rescueteam of the Vietnam People’s Army (VPA) searched four locations forearthquake victims in Turkey’s Hatay province February 18, finding twosites with victims under rubble.

After discovering the two locationswith victims, the team handed over those sites to the local rescue force to pull thevictims out.

Talking to the Vietnam News Agency (VNA),Maj. Gen. Pham Van Ty, Deputy Chief of the Standing Office of the National Committeefor Incident and Natural Disaster Response, Search and Rescue and DeputyDirector of the Rescue Department under the VPA’s General Staff, said that atthe first site, the Turkish force had brought dead bodies out of the rubble.

At the second site, the Vietnamese team thought thereare likely four victims, and local rescuers are working topull them out.

According to Ty, the VPA team is tasked with searching and detecting sites where there likely be victims to inform the Turkish rescue force in accordance with rules set by the international coordinating body and Turkish authorities.

He added that the digging of collapsedbuildings requires heavy equipment and excavators which the team does not have.

Ty affirmed that the VPA team is determined to fulfill the assigned tasks and will always work closely with the international coordinating agency and Turkish authorities to guaranteethe most effective search and rescue operations.

As of late February 18 (Vietnam time),the VPA team had helped Turkey identified 14 sites with earthquake victims,including two locations with signs of survivors.

Impressed with the team’s resolveand efforts, Selman Oturk, a Turkish citizen, told the VNA reporter thathe is deeply grateful to the team for helping Turkish people surmount thesetrying times.

Zakaria, an earthquake survivor, thanked the Vietnameseforce for helping search for his family members trapped under the rubble.

Maj. Gen. Ty said the sad look and the bows of localresidents have made the team members forget all difficulties, stay determinedto save people, and consider the search for Turkish victims as the search fortheir relatives. He said every time the team arrive at the searching site, they are greeted respectfully by local residents who put their right hands on their left chest.

As of February 18, the 7.8-magnitutde earthquake in Turkeyand Syria on February 6 killed over 45,000 people./.