Ramsbottom Fire Station's manager has flown to Turkey to help with international aid efforts after more than 5,000 people died following a devastating earthquake

The earthquake, which had a magnitude of 7.8, struck early on Monday in Turkey’s Gaziantep province, which caused devastation to the southern part of the country and in northern Syria.

More than 200 aftershocks were felt and caused thousands of buildings to collapse or become unstable, and has made the search for survivors perilous for rescuers.

A team of four Greater Manchester Fire and Rescue Service firefighters have joined the UK volunteer team of search and rescue specialists.

They include Ramsbottom Fire Station manager Martin Foran, Leigh firefighter Steven Pennington and Ashton crew member David Hedgecock.

The firefighters flew to Turkey this morning, Tuesday, as part of the UK International Search and Rescue Team (UK-ISAR), a volunteer service made up of specialists from 15 fire and rescue services who are deployed to humanitarian incidents or disasters anywhere in the world.

GMFRS assistant chief fire officer Barry Moore said: “Our thoughts go out to the many thousands across Turkey and Syria who have tragically lost loved ones and livelihoods in these earthquakes, and to the emergency responders working to locate and rescue survivors.

“We know that those rescue efforts are taking place in challenging winter conditions, compounding what is already a very difficult operation.

“Four of our firefighters have now arrived in Turkey and will rapidly be deployed to assist search and rescue operations in the affected areas.

“As part of the UK-ISAR team, they are trained in the use of specialist skills and equipment and ready to respond to any humanitarian disaster that takes place anywhere in the world.”

At least 3,381 people were killed in 10 Turkish provinces, with more than 20,000 injured, according to the latest figures from Turkish authorities today (Tuesday).

The death toll in government-held areas of Syria climbed to 769 people, with some 1,450 injured, according to the Health Ministry.

In the country’s rebel-held north west, groups that operate there said at least 450 people died, with many hundreds injured.

Authorities fear the death toll will keep climbing as the rescuers look for survivors among tangles of metal and concrete spread across the region beset by Syria’s 12-year civil war and refugee crisis.

As part of UK-ISAR, GMFRS firefighters have previously been deployed to the 2014 floods in Bosnia and Herzegovina, the 2011 earthquake and tsunami in Japan and the 2010 earthquake in Haiti.

In October 2021 GMFRS hosted a UK-ISAR training exercise at the training and safety centre in Bury, designed to simulate the effects of an earthquake and test UK crews’ urban search and rescue capabilities.

The exercise involved more than 70 personnel from across the country, with crews confronted by collapsed buildings, displaced people, trapped and injured casualties and other challenging scenarios.