A 7.8-magnitude earthquake jolted Southeast Türkiye on Feb. 6 local time, and has caused severe casualties. Multiple countries have sent rescue forces to the earthquake-stricken areas. The Blue Sky Rescue Team, China's largest non-governmental humanitarian organization, has sent a team to Türkiye this afternoon, which comprises five members from Suzhou.
The five Suzhou rescuers are Hong Weibing, Chen Rihuan, Zhu Yufei, Pan Zhiyuan, and Sha Dan. Hong Weibing, with rich experience in post-quake rescue and search, once served in the Chinese Marine Corps under the South China Sea Fleet of the Navy of the Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA), and have participated in the rescue activities in China's Wenchuan earthquake in 2008. Chen Rihuan, currently working as the deputy head of the secretary group of Suzhou Blue Sky Rescue Team, is a veteran outdoor rescuer.
[Photo/Kan Suzhou]
The team reportedly consists of 60 members carrying medium-sized rescue equipment and two rescue dogs. Five Suzhou members went to Wuhan in Hubei province by high-speed railway train this morning to meet with other rescuers from across the country. Together they flew to Istanbul, Türkiye at 3:35 this afternoon.
