The Austrian army suspended rescue operations for earthquake survivors in Turkey on Saturday due to a deteriorating “security situation”, a spokesman for that force said.
“There have been clashes between groups,” he told AFP, without giving details, adding that the 82 soldiers of the Disaster Relief Unit of the Austrian Armed Forces are hiding in Hatay province, in southern Turkey, “in a encampment with other international organizations, where they await instructions”.
This group of soldiers arrived in Hatay on Tuesday with 45 tons of equipment and managed to rescue nine people from the rubble. The return to Austria was scheduled for Thursday, a date that is now being considered, the spokesperson assumed.
It is recalled that a magnitude 7.8 earthquake has already killed more than 24,000 people in Turkey and neighboring Syria.
Source: DN
