Three days after the earthquake struck Turkey, six-year-old Naureen was pulled out of the rubble of her home in Gaziantep city. The force behind her miraculous rescue after 80 hours? Another six-year-old — a canine rescuer from NDRF — Julie.
Rescuers on the ground said Labrador Julie was sniffing the rubble of multi-storey buildings. She indicated to her handler, constable Kundan Kumar, the presence of a live human. Soon, another dog Romeo, who was part of the same rescue team, was brought in and he, too, indicated the same. That’s when the human rescuers got down to work.
Three adults of her family were found dead, but Naureen opened her eyes in the lap of NDRF rescuers. “When the bodies were being taken out, this little girl opened her eyes. That is how she was found alive after almost 80 hours," DG NDRF Atul Karwal told CNN-News18 in an exclusive conversation.
“It was a sub team lead by a sub-inspector. They were at a building which had collapsed. We call it pancake collapse when a multi-storey building collapses with very little chance of survival. The upper layer of the debris was being taken away by an earth mover. As soon as the lower levels/floors are exposed, the team fans out," Karwal said.
THE DOG SQUAD
“The 2 dogs — Romeo and Julie — played a huge role. Julie led us to the kid. She is a hero for us," Director General of NDRF said, pride in his squad reflecting in his tone.
Karwal said that the canine squad has proved to be a boon even amid high-end equipment.
Six dogs — Romeo, Julie, Rambo, Honey, Bob and Roxy — are part of the NDRF rescue teams in Turkey.
“They add to the technical equipment alarm which are not 100% correct owing to the surrounding noise when the rubble is removed. Dogs have a different way of sensing, so when the two signals match, we are 100% sure," Karwal said.
Julie and Romeo are now being sought in other earthquake-affected areas as well, rescuers said.
THE CHALLENGES
Hypothermia and dehydration have emerged as huge challenges for the rescue teams. CNN-News18 learnt that two rescuers — a male and a female – had collapsed because of hypothermia. Officials said that the day time temperature is -5 degrees and sanitation, hygiene remain major concerns.
“Rescuers have been told not to stand at one place for long because the risk of hypothermia increases," said the DG NDRF.
The NDRF teams are living in tents and have dug up trench latrines as buildings are unsafe.
In Nurdaghi, on February 7, when the NDRF team was preparing to take shelter in a building, it started to shake. The officer informed the headquarters that they heard mortar-fire-like sound, which made them immediately come out of the building and take shelter in tents.
High-end technology like WASP which sets off an alarm when a building is shaking, have also been put to use.
As fuel is scarce, the NDRF has carried ladoos and matthis for the rescue teams. The goodies from home and dry ration is helping the rescuers sustain even as they work non-stop. “The golden hour is over, hope may be dimming for those who managed to survive the earthquake and are stuck in the rubble. We can’t waste a single minute," Karwal signed off.
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