Indio and Akira, the Argentinian dogs of the miraculous rescue of three earthquake survivors in Turkey

Pride. That’s how they feel commissioner Daniel IglesiasChief of the USAR Argentina 12 Special Rescue Brigade, Corporal 1st. daniel oliver and his partner, 1st Sgt. Gerard Gomez. The three are part of the Argentine humanitarian mission which is in Turkey, they are also members of the white helmets of our country and were the protagonists of a miraculous day. On February 14, at dawn in Argentina, the 34 members of the team celebrated find and save three living people among the rubble of a building in the city of Antioquia, in the province of Hatay and very close to the border with Syria, the other country affected by the earthquake which occurred on Monday February 6. And they kept a respectful silence for the 27 dead bodies that they were able to recover.

The discoveries were made in a building consisting of “a basement and three floors above”, describes Commissioner Iglesias to GlobeLiveMedia. A scenario similar to the explosion of a bomb in the middle of war. Only this time the blow came from the bowels of the earth. Iglesias adds: “I had a stacking collapse. It means that there was one slab on top of another and minimal living space. But these spaces exist and in one of them, between the ground floor and the first floor, we find the survivors”.

The Argentine mission, which is on the ground according to the indications it receives from the Turkish Disaster Management Agency (AFAD), has moved since its arrival on Saturday February 11 until today. “The first few days, we weren’t able to get the expected results because the coordination sent us to look for open areas. It’s perfect, because you have to cover everything, but we were far from the epicenter. For today we ask to be at the epicenter, in the most devastated areain a city made of rubble and the results have been great,” he says.

What is incredible in the discovery of the Argentine team is that more than 200 hours spent since the earth shook like never before, with two near-simultaneous earthquakes of 7.8 and 7.6 points on the Richter scale, which have already left more than 35 thousand dead, a figure that unfortunately increases every minute. “It was a wonder. You can expect to find three survivors after two, three or four days, but after 10 days the chances of survival are slim. We waited for the miracle and it happened. We were the only brigade in the whole country that found survivors today. The team was more than happy. We celebrate and mourn. It was inexplicable,” says Iglesias, still moved.

Around noon, Juan Yarte there Lourdes Dominguez Melchortwo of the members of the delegation, had recounted their participation in the discovery in a video: “A motorcycle passed by asking for help and we moved to the scene, and indeed there were people under the rubble. There was already a rescue team working so we joined the tasks they were doing and We managed to extract two living victims and transfer them to the ambulance.”.

Her partner added: “The feeling we have in our bodies, the truth is that we can’t explain it, because the truth is that it’s a miracle in the midst of so much chaos. It’s both personal and for both of us and the whole team because it is something that we practiced and put effort and time to be able to achieve it and we achieved it, so it is not our achievement, but that of our whole team. This situation gives us hope for the future days that we have left. With all our strength, we will continue to give our best.”

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It’s true: to get to the three people they finally rescued, the whole team mobilized. In the case of Argentina USAR Brigade 12 (Urban Search and Rescue according to the international acronym), there are 28 members. “When the machines clear the rubble and find a large space for a person to fit in, the structural engineer assesses whether it is stable for rescuers to enter. If they find that it is not, the place is shored up, and This is where the dogs come in first. In this case, the two we brought are live rescue specialists. Through smell, they detect them. They start barking and tell us that there is someone inside,” continues Iglesias. The search for survivors, he explains, also involves equipment with thermal camera and optical fiber.

In addition, the mission is constituted – continues Iglesias with the description – by “personnel in charge of hazardous materials, in case we detect a substance. It is an interdisciplinary team. Each performs its function. There is a doctor, a nurse, a dentist, personnel from the Superintendence of Communications, fundamental because they serve as a link between the members of the group. And also logisticians to set up the tents, clean the bathrooms and prepare the food. Among all there is a harmonious coexistence”.

According to the commissioner’s interpretation, those rescued were a mother and her two children. “The lady was in her thirties, the boy was 15 or 16 and the girl was between 8 and 10 years old. Despite the time they had been trapped, they were very healthy. Maybe with a little dehydration. But good the context in which we find them. As long as they wanted to leavebut we immediately put them on a stretcher and sent them to the hospital.

– Can there be more people alive there?

-As a power, can. There are spaces with people inside. Those people who survived had water from the same house at that site. Without food, but with water, you can survive. But it is difficult without water or food. There are still living spaces in the collapsed buildings, so the rescue task did not stop. Once there is no more possibility, there he will go to recover bodies with heavy machinery. But we are not at that stage yet.

What caught Iglesias’ attention was the constant, silent presence of the relatives of the missing next to the rubble. Despite the cold, they are there waiting for a miracle that sometimes does not come. “They stand guard, they light bonfires in front of the buildings, hoping, even if it is, someone give them the bodies of their loved ones to bury them. And they thank us very much.”

In the future of the mission task, each highlights the fundamental task performed by the most pampered members of the team: Akira, the Belgian Malinois who is 4 years old; And indian border collie who has 5. Both dogs are life rescue specialists. And they come from the Argentinian Federal Police Fire Dog Unit, which is located on the 29 de Abril property in Villa Lugano, where they are trained. Your guides are Corporal 1st. Oliva and 1st Sgt. Gomez.

Oliva explains that they start training the dogs “from 45 days, at the same time as the mother is weaned. There we start with stimulation, obedience and play. They are used to the terrain and the environments where they will work, with rubble and grass. Much of the training takes place on collapsed structures. It is important that they are not afraid to climb on masonry.

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Trust between the dog and its owner is essential. For that, Oliva and Akira come to work together and after practice they go to 1st Corporal, where the Belgian Shepherd has lived since he was weaned. “During the hours when we have free time, I continue to bond with her, it is very important to generate it for the moment to act in a crisis like this.”

For such a long trip, Akira and Indio were specially prepared. They both flew in a transport kennel, a box with a blanket which is their place of refuge and rest. “The journey was long, but at the stops we were able to get off and give them food and water, and a little walk too,” says Oliva.

Now in Hatay they both live at the base of operations. eat healthy according to the ration indicated by a veterinarian who weighs them and checks them for health. And they continue to live with their guides in heated orange tents. Although the confidence does not go as far to get on the bed as any domestic dog. “They choose to sleep in the same kennel that we transported them to. This is how they are trained from an early age,” says Oliva.

When this note is released in Argentinian nightfall, Indio and Akira will be close to dawn in Turkey with Daniel Oliva and Gerardo Gómez. To keep looking for a new miracle. Another survivor of the tragedy.

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