Philippines contingent to Turkey coming home

MANILA, Philippines — After two weeks of deployment, members of the Philippine Inter-Agency Contingent (PIAC) sent to help victims of a devastating magnitude 7.8 earthquake that hit Turkey are now on their way home.

The Office of Civil Defense (OCD) said all 82 members of the team are in good health and are expected to arrive in the country on March 1.

During the PIAC’s stay in Adiyaman, one of the hardest-hit areas, the team retrieved six bodies.

The OCD said the team was able to assess and clear 36 buildings from Feb. 10 to 15 before being placed on standby, awaiting requests for further assistance on retrieval operations.

Members of the medical team, on the other hand, continued to help victims of the earthquake until yesterday with the search and rescue personnel assisting them.

The OCD said the field hospital was able to serve a total of 938 patients as of Thursday or a day before medical assistance operations ended.

Representatives from the Department of Health (DOH) provided medical assistance to the Philippine contingent during their stay, ensuring the welfare of the team with standby doctors and nurses.

The base of operations or base camp is also managed with the leadership of the DOH, with the assistance of the Armed Forces of the Philippines and the Turkish military.

Among the members of the PIAC are 12 personnel from the 505th Search and Rescue Group of the Philippine Air Force, 21 from the 525th Engineering Combat Battalion of the Philippine Army, nine from the Metro Manila Development Authority, eight from Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority, 30 from the DOH and two from the OCD.