Powerful new images of rescue efforts in Syria and Turkey after a devastating earthquake left thousands dead, were shared on Saturday.
Mike Leum with the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Search and Rescue Reserve tweeted images of deputies rescuing victims amongst the rubble.
A 52-year-old woman and her 18-year-old son were rescued, Leum said in a tweet.
The two were trapped for five days before a rescue team found them.
Get Southern California news, weather forecasts and entertainment stories to your inbox. Sign up for NBC LA newsletters.
“This morning they were assigned to an area to search,” deputy Marcelo Ruiz, assistant coordinator to Montrose Search and Rescue.
That rescue team includes six reserve LA County Sheriff’s personnel.
Local
Get Los Angeles's latest local news on crime, entertainment, weather, schools, COVID, cost of living and more. Here's your go-to source for today's LA news.
“Extremely proud of them. I am only their coordinator but I see how much work they put in their training and how much effort they do, because we get constant calls,” Ruiz said.
Ruiz says the team is assigned to Adana, Turkey and assisted in the rescue of the mother and son on their first day out.
“They just concluded their first day. they flew out of here on this past Thursday,” Ruiz said.
The team will be in Turkey for one week. They train for all types of rescues, are highly skilled, and they are all volunteers.
“Keep in mind this personnel doesn’t get paid, they do it out of the kindness of their heart. They are on their own giving back to their community,” Ruiz said.
A rescue team with LA County Fire is also in Turkey.
“The area they are working in its been difficult for them to find live victims to rescue,” Thomas Ewald, deputy fire chief with LA County Fire, said.
LA County Fire says news of this rescue has boosted morale.
“It’s always a motivator when you hear a successful rescue whether it's in the community that you are working in or across the disaster area,” Ewald said.
Deputy Ruiz says the six men and women who assisted in this rescue are heros and helped bring a little hope during such a trying time.
