tribute to French rescuers returning to the Rhône

At the airport of Lyon-Saint-Exupéry (Rhône), about thirty members of the Turkish community are waiting for the rescuers to show their gratitude. “We don’t live in this region but we are all very affected so we came to thank them”declares Sevim Yerlikaya, volunteer of the International Union of Democrats association. Firefighters from Lyon and the Rhône came to the aid of earthquake victims in the province ofHatayin southern Turkey.

“We say everything in an embrace”

“We worked constantly for the first 48 hours already, without sleeping and without eating to be able to save as many lives as possible”, says Lieutenant Mickaël Huot-Marchand, CASC-APPUI dog handler. Some scenes will remain forever etched in their memory, such as the image of two women entwined, found dead under the rubble. “Me, Turkish, I don’t speak it at all and it’s not severe. We tell each other everything in an embrace”, says Isabelle Bardin, emergency physician at CASC-APPUI. Next Sunday, a team from Villeurbanne will fly to Turkey to take over.