“1:15 p.m. on Saturday”. Earthquake, 72 hours to save lives

On the night of Monday, February 6, 2023, a magnitude 7.8 earthquake struck Turkey. A few hours later, another tremor was felt and several aftershocks took place. This is the fifth deadliest earthquake of the 21st century, which has already caused more than 39,000 victims, a still provisional assessment.

It is among the rubble and the pain in devastated streets that “1:15 p.m. on Saturday” (Twitter, #1:15 p.m.), plunges into immersion through a series of crossed portraits of rescuers: Philippe, Charlotte, Laurent, firefighters-rescuers, all volunteers, who flew to Turkey the day after the earthquake.

72 crucial hours for survivors

Their base camp lies in the rubble in the heart of the chaos of the city of Kahramanmaraş, the epicenter of the earthquake. Freeing survivors was the priority in the first days: on average, it is in the first 72 hours following a disaster that more than 90% of survivors are rescued. “1:15 p.m. on Saturday” followed the work of Pompiers Sans Frontières.

A report by Jean-Sébastien Desbordes and David Geoffrion.

> Replays of France Télévisions news magazines are available on the Franceinfo website and its mobile application (iOS & Android), “Magazines” section.