The Greek rescue team was sent to Türkiye after the devastating 7.8 Richter earthquake in the early hours of February 6 in Southeast Türkiye and Syria returned to Athens.
The mission was welcomed at Athens International Airport Eleftherios Venizelos by the political leadership of the Ministry of Climate Crisis and Civil Protection, Health Minister Thanos Plevris, and the leadership of the Fire Brigade, as well as members of the EKAV (Emergency Response Ambulance Service).
The mission consisted of 36 officers of the 1st and 2nd EMAK (Special Disaster Response Unit), two officers – engineers of the Fire Brigade with specialization in supporting the ruins of collapsed buildings, eight doctors and ambulance service paramedics, three rescue dogs and three special rescue vehicles, as well as the head of the Organisation for Anti-Seismic Planning and Protection (OASP), Professor Efthymis Lekkas. “We did what we would do in our country,” the head of the 1st EMAK, Dimitris Roupas, said upon his arrival to the Athens airport.
