
The first Thai rescue team arrived in Istanbul on Friday while the Public Health Ministry announced its readiness to send an army medical team on Saturday, said the ministry's deputy permanent secretary Dr Narong Apikulwanich.
Dr Narong said on Friday that the Thai urban search and rescue (USAR) team -- made up of 42 rescue workers and two sniffer dogs -- flew to Turkey via Turkish Airlines on Thursday night to assist for 10 days with search and rescue efforts.