Two earthquakes with a magnitude of 7.7 and 7.6, the epicenter of which were in Kahramanmaraş, caused great destruction in the region.
While the whole of Turkey was united against the disaster, the "Memur-Sen" Confederation sent search and rescue teams to the region and took part in the field work from the very first moment.
The Confederation's search and rescue team, which had completed the necessary exams before the earthquake, was accredited only one day before the earthquake and was entitled to go on field duty.
“WE HAVE BEEN IN THE REGION BY PASSING SHAFT ROADS”
Burak Paydaş, Memur-Sen Search and Rescue Management Coordinator, stated that the search and rescue teams affiliated to Memur-Sen met at Memur-Sen Headquarters on the morning of the earthquake and moved towards the region.
"We completed all our preparations and took action from our headquarters around seven o'clock. On the way to Kahramanmaraş, we learned from the AFAD teams, who went ahead, that the entrance road could only be provided through Kayseri, through Göksun. We immediately turned back to Kayseri road from there. At around 13.30 we entered Kahramanmaraş Göksun. In the second earthquake, we were caught in the vehicle there. Afterwards, they said that the Göksun road was also closed and all the roads entering Kahramanmaraş were closed. Since there was no other way to go, we continued in that direction. As a matter of fact, there were cracks in the road and the police blocked the road. But we continued on the split roads. With the break of the road, we had to wait there for about five or six hours. We landed in Kahramanmaraş at around six o'clock and started working in the area shown to us," he said.
“THE FEELING OF FAILURE IN OUR FIRST EFFORT AFFECTED US”
Muhammet Yasir Okumuş, Deputy Leader of Memur-Sen Search and Rescue Team, who is involved in search and rescue activities and is also a research assistant, told about the moments when he heard a voice from under the rubble for the first time.
"I must have been the first to hear the sound. You try to understand what happens when you encounter that destruction. So there is an effort to make sense of it. First time seeing something like this. No matter how much training you get, you are caught psychologically unprepared. First there was an aunt, they almost took her out. Of course, it was still a lot of work, my friends. There was also a child's voice. We struggled for almost two hours, but it was snowing on the one hand. Unfortunately, we could not remove the child, he passed away. This affected us quite negatively. The feeling of failing in our first effort, encountering such a situation affected us. But we had to pull ourselves together," Okumuş said.
"THE PEOPLE WE COULD NOT SAVE, MADE OUR CONSCIENCE ACHE"
Yasir Okumus said that the team, who set out with the humanitarian aid brigade in line with a tip they received on the third day of the earthquake, headed to another wreckage with the tip they received on the way.
"We ran right away. There is indeed sound. So I entered the building. People filled there. It's a very unsafe area. We evacuated the place, we listened, we talked. There were no children, there were men and women, simultaneously. We worked there until the evening. Then we'll leave and pack our stuff. This time, someone stopped me from the back street, he said, brother, there is a voice, let's see, we ran there immediately. We probably did seven or eight hours of work. People have mixed emotions. What can we do, can we remove it or not? Now, after two or three days, you get used to the conditions of the field. You are aware of your capacity, although not emotionally. Each time, we had the feeling that we would be able to remove it or not. Because what you do not remove more than what you remove creates a burden on your shoulders and creates a wound in your conscience. So I look back like this; You say, 'Could we have done something more, could we have saved one more person?' It's a very difficult thing to tell," he added.
“I HAD THE POWER GIVEN BY MY GOD”
Highlighting the difficulty of witnessing such a major disaster, Search and Rescue Team Logistics Officer Selami Ünal underlined that it is difficult to explain the situations encountered.
"The earthquake caught everyone at bedtime. In other words, mothers and fathers hugged their babies like this. Most of the people we took out were like that. They tried to protect their offspring, but unfortunately, when you remove the wreckage, you encounter those painful pictures. People inevitably burst into tears. You can't contain yourself. When you pull a living person out of the wreck, the way he hugs you and caresses your soul creates a different feeling at that moment. We want to take out more injured people, let's get them alive. There was the power that our Lord gave us," he said.