How India's NDRF Dog Squad Helped Rescue A Girl In Earthquake Hit Turkey

The daring Romeo and Juliet, who were part of India's National Disaster Response Force's (NDRF) dog squad, deserve the majority of the credit for miraculously rescuing a six-year-old girl from earthquake-ravaged Turkey.

Romeo and Juliet succeeded where machines failed. The dog squad successfully discovered the little girl’s location under tonnes of rubble. Without their help, the little girl would not have survived.

The NDRF is making all efforts to save all lives under the rubble at the disaster site at Nurdagi and various other parts of Turkey that were heavily affected by the earthquake on February 6.

Dog Squad Saves Girl In Turkey

Constable Kundan, a dog handler, described how Juliet discovered the location of the little girl in the rubble at the Nudragi site. The six-year-old girl was identified as Beren.

"The government asked us to facilitate a search and rescue operation in Nurdagi, and we got a lead about a survivor being trapped under the rubble. We asked Juliet to go inside the rubble. "She went in and started barking, which indicated that she had discovered a survivor trapped beneath," Constable Kundan told the ANI.

"For reconfirmation, we sent Romeo into the rubble, and he also confirmed the presence of a survivor under the debris through barking," added another NDRF dog attendant.

However, nobody was aware of the condition and age of the surviving soul at that time. After several hours of the rescue operation, NDRF personnel succeeded in saving the life of the little girl.

A six-storey building collapsed and turned into rubble in the Tukey earthquake at the Nurdagi site, where the NDRF is conducting search and rescue operations. Locals informed the NDRF about the living souls under the debris, after which Romeo and Juliet were tasked to locate the survivors.

Appreciating the NDRF for saving the little girl, Home Minister Amit Shah tweeted, "Proud of our NDRF. In the rescue operation in Turkey, Team IND-11 saved the life of a six-year-old girl, Beren, in Gaziantep City. Under the guidance of PM Narendra Modi, we are committed to making the NDRF the world’s leading disaster response force."

Following the devastating earthquakes in Turkey and Syria on February 7, India announced Operation Dost to help the countries. India sent a team from the Indian Army to set up a para-field hospital and a team of NDRF personnel to conduct search and rescue operations and provide medicines, hospital equipment, doctors, and other relief and humanitarian assistance.

Suggested Reading: How Indian Army’s Operation Dost In Turkey Is Winning Hearts