BRITISH firefighters have filmed the dramatic moment they pulled a police officer and a woman alive from the rubble of a building in Turkey — five days after they were trapped.
The footage shows search and rescue specialists in Hatay, in the south of the country, rescuing the man and woman who had been caught under a collapsed multi-storey building for 120 hours.
PABritish rescue teams are among thousands of foreign relief workers flooding into Turkey to provide help[/caption]
GettyCivilians are being pulled from the rubble of collapsed buildings 149 hours after the 7.7 and 7.6 magnitude earthquakes hit Turkey[/caption]
GettyRescue teams are working day and night to recover people trapped beneath the rubble of fallen buildings[/caption]
Phil Irving, 46, from Haverfordwest, Pembrokeshire, was part of the team which successfully freed the pair on Saturday.
The dad of two said the battle to save them, and their determination to stay alive, “will stay with me”.
He added: “These people were entombed in rubble and debris and we had to work around the clock to bring them out alive.
“We heard them tapping and shouting so knew we were close but reaching them was a major challenge. They were trapped for over five days but had incredible hope and believe.”
The watch manager at Haverfordwest station has been a firefighter for almost 24 years and a volunteer with UK International Search and Rescue (UK-ISAR) for 17 years, and was part of the 2009 Indonesia and 2010 Haiti earthquake responses.
He said it “hurts my heart to see the devastation” caused to families and their homes.
GettySearch and rescue crew pulled an injured cat from rubble of collapsed building in Turkey[/caption]
AFPThis aerial view shows collapsed buildings during the ongoing rescue operation in Kahramanmaras[/caption]
“I stand back and I look at the people who have lost their homes and their families and my heart bleeds for them.
“Turkey didn’t deserve this. Human beings don’t deserve this.
“I was walking down the street the other day, there were helicopters above, constant sirens, shouting in the street, brazier fires burning, and it feels and looks like a war zone.
“The most difficult conversations we have are when the search dog doesn’t get a hit, there’s no audible noise or sign of life and then we have to move on.”
