Turkey earthquake: After three lives saved, British volunteer reflects on rescue mission

Published

2 years ago

February 15, 2023

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Rob Davis has just saved three people’s lives.

The beers he had on Tuesday night after arriving home from Turkey in the early hours of the morning were well-deserved – as was the full night’s sleep he enjoyed afterwards.

Latest updates from Turkey-Syria earthquake

Mr Davis, 52, is a retired firefighter and team leader with SARAID, Search and Rescue Assistance in Disasters.

The rescues in the devastated city of Kahramanmaras were a joint effort – from the volunteer SARAID team, alongside local rescue teams in Turkey and their German counterparts @ Fire.

They were working on buildings that had been “tipped upside down”, toppled blocks of flats merged into one pile of rubble, so they weren’t sure if there had originally been six buildings or eight.

Under the rubble of a six-storey building, the team had their first rescue on their first night in Turkey.

The dogs had picked up a live scent, so they knew there was someone still breathing. They put a camera through a hole they had drilled – and a hand grabbing the lens was confirmation of what the dogs had smelled.

The hand belonged to Serpa, a 33-year-old who had been trapped under the “pancaked” building for more than 60 hours.

Next to her was her daughter, six-year-old Hamza. Water bottles were posted through a hole to them – and when a tunnel big enough had been created, a medic crawled in to assess them. Both escaped without traumatic injuries.

‘Eerie’ silence helped find trapped teen

Twenty-four hours later, the team’s second rescue – this time they were called to assist a local Turkish team who needed their technical sound location equipment.

The heavy machinery ground to a halt and they called for silence in the gathered crowd.

“It was quite eerie, really. You could hear a pin drop,” Mr Davis said.

Then over the headset, they heard tapping.

Once they had located the noise, the local team set to work on getting to the trapped person.

“They lifted this massive piece of concrete off this collapsed building and underneath was Iqbal, a 15-year-old. You could just see the head, the hair, and the rest of her was trapped by the legs,” Mr Davis said.

‘Bitter’ conditions amid miracle rescue efforts

They initially thought her legs had been crushed, but she was just pinned in place, suffering from dehydration but with no major injuries.

It was the bed frame that saved her – both by protecting her from the collapsing building and giving her something to bang against, that alerted the rescue team to her location, 110 hours after the earthquake.

Unfortunately, she was alone in her luck.

She kept asking for her mum, Mr Davis said, but they weren’t able to detect anyone else alive in the ruins.

The rescuers worked in difficult conditions. Distraught relatives were desperate for them to rescue their loved ones; they couldn’t always help.

The temperature got down to a “bitter” -10C.

Mr Davis said his team had “numerous conversations” about the harrowing conditions.

“If it’s cold for us and we’ve got five layers of clothes on and a hot drink, and we can now move and get ourselves warm – just think what it’s like to be stuck in a small space under a building five, six, eight days later,” Mr Davis said.

More than a week after the earthquake, the rescues are tailing off.

Mr Davis still expects there will be the occasional miracle rescue – but that’s what they will be, miracles.

World

Trump’s USAID cuts could lead to 14 million deaths, report warns

Published

2 hours ago

July 1, 2025

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Trump's USAID cuts could lead to 14 million deaths, report warns

Around 14 million people could die across the world over the next five years because of cuts to the US Agency for International Development (USAID), researchers have warned.

Children under five are expected to make up around a third (4.5 million) of the mortalities, according to a study published in The Lancet medical journal.

Estimates showed that “unless the abrupt funding cuts announced and implemented in the first half of 2025 are reversed, a staggering number of avoidable deaths could occur by 2030”.

“Beyond causing millions of avoidable deaths – particularly among the most vulnerable – these cuts risk reversing decades of progress in health and socioeconomic development in LMICs [low and middle-income countries],” the report said.

USAID programmes have prevented the deaths of more than 91 million people, around a third of them among children, the study suggests.

The agency’s work has been linked to a 65% fall in deaths from HIV/AIDS, or 25.5 million people.

Eight million deaths from malaria, more than half the total, around 11 million from diarrheal diseases and nearly five million from tuberculosis (TB), have also been prevented.

USAID has been vital in improving global health, “especially in LMICs, particularly African nations,” according to the report.

Established in 1961, the agency was tasked with providing humanitarian assistance and helping economic growth in developing countries, especially those deemed strategic to Washington.

But the Trump administration has made little secret of its antipathy towards the agency, which became an early victim of cuts carried out by the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) – formerly led by Elon Musk – in what the US government said was part of a broader plan to remove wasteful spending.

In March, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said more than 80% of USAID schemes had been closed following a six-week review, leaving around 1,000 active.

The US is the world’s largest humanitarian aid donor, providing around $61bn (£44bn) in foreign assistance last year, according to government data, or at least 38% of the total, and USAID is the world’s leading donor for humanitarian and development aid, the report said.

Between 2017 and 2020, the agency responded to more than 240 natural disasters and crises worldwide – and in 2016 it sent food assistance to more than 53 million people across 47 countries.

The study assessed all-age and all-cause mortality rates in 133 countries and territories, including all those classified as low and middle-income, supported by USAID from 2001 to 2021.

World

Thai PM Paetongtarn Shinawatra suspended amid outrage over leaked phone call

Published

5 hours ago

July 1, 2025

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Thai PM Paetongtarn Shinawatra suspended amid outrage over leaked phone call

Thailand’s prime minister has been suspended after a leaked phone call with a senior Cambodian politician caused outrage.

An ethics investigation into Paetongtarn Shinawatra is under way and she could end up being dismissed.

The country’s constitutional court took up a petition from 36 senators, who claimed dishonesty and a breach of ethical standards, and voted 7 to 2 to suspend her.

The prime minister’s call with Cambodia’s former leader, Hun Sen, sparked public protests after she tried to appease him and criticised a Thai army commander – a taboo move in a country where the military is extremely influential.

Ms Shinawatra was trying to defuse mounting tensions at the border – which in May resulted in the death of one Cambodian soldier.

Thousands of conservative, nationalist protesters held a demo in Bangkok on Saturday to urge her to step down.

Her party is clinging on to power after another group withdrew from their alliance a few weeks ago over the phone call. Calls for a no-confidence vote are likely.

Deputy prime minister Suriya Juangroongruangkit will take over temporarily while the court looks into the case.

The 38-year-old prime minister – Thailand‘s youngest ever leader – has 15 days to respond to the probe. She has apologised and said her approach in the call was a negotiating tactic.

The popularity of her government has slumped recently, with an opinion poll showing an approval rating of 9.2%, down from 30.9% in March.

Ms Shinawatra comes from a wealthy dynasty synonymous with Thai politics.

Her father Thaksin Shinawatra – a former Manchester City owner – and aunt Yingluck Shinawatra served as prime minister before her – in the early to mid 2000s – and their time in office also ended ignominiously amid corruption charges and military coups.

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Benjamin Netanyahu to meet Donald Trump next week amid calls for Gaza ceasefire

Published

11 hours ago

July 1, 2025

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Benjamin Netanyahu to meet Donald Trump next week amid calls for Gaza ceasefire

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will be meeting Donald Trump next Monday, according to US officials.

The visit on 7 July comes after Mr Trump suggested it was possible a ceasefire in Gaza could be reached within a week.

On Sunday, he wrote on social media: “MAKE THE DEAL IN GAZA. GET THE HOSTAGES BACK!!!”

At least 60 people killed across Gaza on Monday, in what turned out to be some of the heaviest attacks in weeks.

According to the Hamas-run health ministry, 56,500 people have been killed in the 20-month war.

The visit by Mr Netanyahu to Washington has not been formally announced and the officials who said it would be going ahead spoke on condition of anonymity.

An Israeli official in Washington also confirmed the meeting next Monday.

White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said the administration was in constant communication with the Israeli government.

She said Mr Trump viewed ending the war in Gaza and returning remaining hostages held by Hamas as a top priority.

The war in Gaza broke out in retaliation for Hamas’ 7 October 2023 attacks on southern Israel that killed 1,200 people and saw a further 250 taken hostage.

An eight-week ceasefire was reached in the final days of Joe Biden’s US presidency, but Israel resumed the war in March after trying to get Hamas to accept new terms on next steps.

Talks between Israel and Hamas have stalled over whether the war should end as part of any ceasefire.