2 M'sian Sniffer Dogs Will Be Deployed To Turkiye For Earthquake Search & Rescue Efforts
Frankie and Denti are part of the 90-member SMART team involved in the Turkiye earthquake search and rescue efforts.
By Jasmine Chea — 09 Feb 2023, 11:27 AM
Two Malaysian K9 sniffer dogs will be deployed to Turkiye today, 9 February, to aid in search and rescue (SAR) efforts for victims involved in the earthquake disaster that struck the region on Monday, 6 February
According to Bernama, sniffer dogs, Frankie and Denti, are part of the second batch of rescuers from Malaysia, which comprises of 20 Special Malaysia Disaster Assistance and Rescue Team (SMART) members, 30 Malaysian Fire and Rescue Department (JBPM), and 30 members of the Civil Defence Force (APM).
Malaysia has already sent a team of 70 SMART personnel to Turkiye on Monday, when the tragedy struck.
JBPM's Tactical Operations Rescue Team of Malaysia (STORM) chief commander Ismail Abdul Ghani told reporters that the Labrador Retriever and English Springer Spaniel are part of the SMART team and are trained to be ready for deployment anywhere abroad.
"The purpose of us bringing these tracker dogs is to maximise the (rescue) efforts when we are there, as their role is to find the victims' locations," Ismail said.
Frankie and Denti will endure an 11-hour long flight to Turkiye but Ismail assured everyone that the canines have been assessed for their ability to travel by air before deployment.
Denti (left) and Frankie (right) alongside their handlers at the Kuala Lumpur International Airport in Sepang.
Image via Hasnoor Hussain/ReutersIn what was described as the worst natural disaster to have occurred in the 21st century, the 7.8 magnitude earthquake devasted numerous regions in Turkiye and Syria
The devastating earthquake struck 23km east of Nurdagi in the Turkish Gaziantep province at a depth of over 24.1km, at approximately 4.15am.
A second 6.5 magnitude quake occurred 11 minutes after the initial quake, followed by a 7.5 magnitude aftershock nine hours later.
The earthquake has since claimed a combined total of 12,000 lives, left 40,190 injured, and collapsed over 5,700 buildings.
On Tuesday, 7 February, Turkiye declared a three-month state of emergency in 10 regions — Adana, Adıyaman, Diyarbakir, Gaziantep, Hatay, Kahramanmaras, Kilis, Malatya, Osmaniye, and Sanliurfa.
Donations are pouring in from countries from around the world, including Malaysia, which has donated USD1 million (RM4.3 million) to aid surviving victims of the earthquake.
Civilians looking upon the remains of a destroyed building in Kahramanmaras, Turkiye.
Image via Suhaib Salem/ReutersWhile covering the earthquake disaster at ground zero, a news reporter abandoned his live broadcast to save a young girl:
