US firefighters join Turkey earthquake response
Members of the United States Agency for International Development's Disaster Assistance Response Team arrived at Turkey's Incirlik Air Base on Wednesday to join the relief effort following the devastating earthquake in Turkey and Syria. The U.S. Defense Department says the group includes urban search and rescue teams from the Fairfax County, Virginia and Los Angeles County, California Fire Departments. The teams are traveling with 159 people, 12 rescue dogs, and 170,000 pounds (77,110 kilograms) of specialized equipment. The dogs are trained to find people who are still alive beneath the rubble of collapsed buildings. The catastrophic earthquake and a series of aftershocks killed more than 17,000 in Turkey and Syria. Multiple rescues have been reported on Thursday as well. Emergency crews pulled two people, both alive, from the ruins of a building in Antakya, Turkey on Thursday, the news agency IHA reported. It says crews there pulled out a young girl first, and her father two hours later.
