On the early morning of Monday, February 6th, Turkey and Syria suffered a 7.8 magnitude earthquake on the Richter scale that left thousands dead. Different international teams mobilized to Turkey in order to assist the population, and, above all, search for people alive under the rubble. That same day, UME was activated through the European Civil Protection Mechanism, a voluntary fund that allows for responding to disasters within and outside the European Union. The Unit moved to the affected country with a contingent of 55 personnel: 46 from the USAR team of BIEM II and 9 from UMEDAT for disaster evaluation.

During the mission, the Unit managed to detect people alive and recover the remains of those who had died in both İslahiye and Nurdağı, both cities located in the province of Gaziantep. However, the most significant consideration of this mission was the rescue of Leyla, Elif, and Muslim, a mother and her children, who were trapped for four days and experienced a rescue operation that lasted more than 24 hours. They were detected one day earlier through technical search using geophones, and cutting and drilling work was carried out.

The SIER 213 (Emergency and Rescue Intervention Section) first rescued, two years old,  Muslim, the smallest family member, and shortly after, it was his five years old sister, Elif. And finally, the mother, Leyla, emerged from the rubble shouting: “You are angels without wings”. A recognition of the rescuers that, once at the University Hospital of Gaziantep, she extended to all Spaniards. This event represented a before and after for UME. Saving Leyla, Elif, and Muslim was the Unit's first rescue of people alive after an earthquake in its history.

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 Leyla, Elif, Muslim y los "ángeles sin alas": historia de un rescate en Turquía

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