The rescue team deployed to assist in the rescue operations in Turkey after the earthquake that devastated the country has already arrived in Portugal. The 52 operatives and the dogs that make up the team arrived this afternoon at the Figo Maduro Air Base in Lisbon, where a ceremony was held attended by the Minister of the Interior, José Luís Carneiro.
At the site, the minister left words of thanks to the operatives also on behalf of the prime minister and left them a message from the President of the Republic, Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa, who will receive them in Belém on the 22nd. At the end, the team commander, José Guilherme, spoke in the spirit of mission accomplished.
“It was during some raids that we were doing in one of the sectors in the lower part of Antakya. The dogs detected, at first, also at the request of the people, a body of a popular person, who supposedly had a victim a few meters away, we immediately sent the first team for the first assessment, the dogs made the detection, we were reinforcing and from there teamwork developed until we reached the tiny Baran, at that time we were all Baran and we were all ten years old”, José Guilherme reminded the journalists.
The commander also recalled what was the highlight of the intervention of the Portuguese team in Turkey: the rescue of a ten-year-old boy.
“The mission was given and accomplished. Saving a life, like I said, was worth it. These are events and catastrophes that require a lot of effort, not only physical but also emotional and these women and men who were part of this team are duly trained, they are professionals of excellence and with a unique availability”, added the commander of the Portuguese team.
The Portuguese contingent included Civil Protection, GNR, firefighters and INEM professionals.
Source: TSF
