VA Search And Rescue Team In Turkey To Search For Earthquake Survivors

TURKEY — Members of Virginia Task Force 1, a Fairfax County-based search and rescue team, have scoured more than 600 sites in the Turkish city of Adiyaman, looking for survivors after a 7.8 magnitude earthquake devastated the city.

Emergency crews made a series of dramatic rescues on Friday, pulling several people from the rubble four days after the earthquake killed nearly 23,000 people and injured another 83,000 in Turkey and neighboring Syria, according to a count by CNN.

More than 141,000 rescue personnel are on the ground in the hardest-hit Turkish provinces, CNN reported, citing Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

The Fairfax County team, consisting of 79 people and six dogs, is one of two U.S. groups deployed to Turkey through the United States Agency for International Development. Both teams are specially trained to excavate people trapped under rubble.

Capt. Daniel Gajewski, operations chief for Virginia Task Force 1, told WTOP that Virginia first responders are communicating with Turkish officials to cover as much ground as possible.

Gajewski told WTOP the earthquake's aftermath was the "most devastation he has seen in his career."

"This is the first time I've witnessed a 15-story building that literally collapsed down to one story," he said. "It's eye-opening. It's sad. And then on that pile, you're looking at all these citizens who are working together to try to affect these rescues."

• RELATED: VA Task Force 1 Members Heading To Turkey, Syria After Quake

Temperatures remain below freezing across the large region, and many people have no place to shelter. The government has distributed millions of hot meals, as well as tents and blankets, but is still struggling to reach many people in need.

Hypothermia is a concern as rescue efforts continue, John Morrison of the Fairfax County Fire Department told CNN. Morrison is among 150 U.S. workers assisting in rescue efforts.

Morrison told CNN the Virginia task force had not yet found anyone alive in the rubble.

"We still have a lot of hope that there are victims out here that are viable, and we are working diligently to find them," Morrison told CNN.

Sponsored by the Fairfax County Fire and Rescue Department, Virginia Task Force 1 is composed of about 200 specially trained career and volunteer fire and rescue personnel, all of whom have expertise in rescuing victims from collapsed structures following a natural or manmade catastrophic event.

Virginia Task Force 1 partners with the Federal Emergency Management Agency for domestic events and the U.S. Agency for International Development's Bureau for Humanitarian Assistance for international missions.

According to FOX 5 DC, the team was deployed to Haiti to help following a major earthquake in 2021. Last year, the team traveled to Florida to help with relief efforts following Hurricane Ian.