Due to the “security situation”, the Austrian rescuers were sheltered in a base camp in the province of Hatay “pending instructions”.
MO12345LEMONDE WITH AFP
More than 25,000 people died in the earthquake that hit Turkey and Syria on Monday, according to the latest official assessments communicated on Saturday 11 February. According to the Turkish president, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, visiting the city of Sianlurfa, 21,848 bodies were found at this stage in Turkey, while the authorities have counted 3,553 dead in Syria.
In the morning, the Austrian army announced the suspension of its rescue operations in Turkey, by invoking “the security situation” which continues after the earthquake. A similar decision was made in Germany by the Federal Technical Rescue Agency (THW), as well as by the NGO Isar Germany, specializing in assistance to victims of natural disasters, according to a spokesperson for the NGO .