Hungary has offered a unit with considerable experience in search and rescue, ready to go if the Turkish government indicates its willingness to receive them.Continue reading
The President of Turkey, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, has awarded the HUNOR Rescue Organization with a high state award. The award was personally received in Ankara by Péter Jackovics, the commander of the organization.
A grand ceremony was held at the National Convention Center in Ankara on 25 April, to which the leaders of the organizations involved in search and rescue following the earthquake in Turkey were invited. In February, more than two hundred Turkish and more than one hundred and ten foreign search and rescue organizations were working in the earthquake-affected regions.
The event was reported on the Facebook page of the National Directorate General of Disaster Management, which includes the HUNOR Rescue Organization. From Hungary, Dr. Péter Jackovics, HUNOR commander, and László Lehoczki, a volunteer search and rescue volunteer, along with his rescue dog called Hope, traveled to Ankara and attended the ceremony together with Hungarian Ambassador to Turkey Viktor Matis.
According to the document handed over by the Turkish President, the Republic of Turkey expresses the gratitude of the Turkish nation with the state award for self-sacrifice, the so-called Decoration of Gratitude.
The event was addressed by Péter Jackovics on behalf of all the rescue organizations. He said that the members of the Hungarian rescue team did what they were sworn to do, away from their families and under difficult circumstances. The commander stressed that the key to the Hungarian success was not only their preparedness, but also the support and willingness to serve of the Turks. The commander finished his speech in Turkish, followed by a loud ovation.
According to the post by the National Directorate General of Disaster Management, members of the HUNOR Rescue Organization said in February that they had left a part of their souls in Antakya to help the people there cope with the post-earthquake conditions.
HUNOR was the first to leave Hungary for Turkey after a 7.8 magnitude earthquake struck southern Turkey in the early hours of 6 February, followed by several aftershocks. Several Hungarian rescue organizations later joined the rescue operation and Hungarian rescuers were able to rescue a total of 35 people from the rubble.
Featured photo via Péter Jackovics’ Archive/Facebook/BM Országos Katasztrófavédelmi Főigazgatóság
