A specialist team deployed to Turkey to help with operations after a devastating earthquake described the "utter carnage" they encountered.
77 British specialists were deployed to help with search and rescue operations after the magnitude 7.8 quake hit Turkey and neighbouring Syria. On the morning of the earthquake, a team of four experts based in Croxteth received a message with a deployment notice from the UK International Search and Rescue (UKISAR) team - a specialist humanitarian disaster response team that answers to the Home Office.
Within hours the team, led by watch manager Keith Findlay, dropped all family engagements, packed their kit and headed to Birmingham to board a flight to Turkey. When they landed they were met with devastation like they had never imagined.
READ MORE: Man woken by 'loud bangs' and room shaking during Turkey earthquake
WM Findlay, who has been a firefighter for 20 years and a specialist with UKISAR for five, said they felt like "rabbits in headlights" when they saw the scale of the damage. He told the ECHO: "What we saw was utter carnage. It was like a massive bomb had gone off.
"Whole buildings had just been reduced to rubble. The place was chaotic. It was so noisy - there were sirens going off everywhere, people were running around screaming."
The earthquake which struck Turkey and northern Syria on February 6 is one of the strongest, deadliest and costliest ever recorded. The quake, which caused $84bn worth of damage, has claimed the lives of over 50,000 people.
More than 11,000 rescue workers have been deployed from around the world according to Winston Chang, the International Search and Rescue Advisory Group global lead who helped oversee the United Nations response. The Merseyside firefighters were deployed with a team of four dogs to search the rubble for survivors.
Merseyside Fire and Rescue Service crew manager Niamh Darcy was one of the team's dog handlers and was in charge of search and rescue dog Vesper. CM Darcy said their team was deployed to find those still alive under the piles of rubble. She told the ECHO: "Words can't put into effect the damage we saw.
"There was such devastation. People kept coming up to us and offering food and water so we would come and look for their loved ones.
"We were acting on information from local people so we deployed to help with searching for any signs of life. One particular incident that will stay with me was when we were assisting with a Dutch team. They had interest in one of the buildings they were working at.
"A man said his wife was trapped inside the building and his unborn baby was due to be born that day. The building had collapsed. Vesper searched for any sign of life but couldn't find one. We had to tell the man with the help of a translator that we had to move on. That will stay with me."
The team rescued eight people from the rubble during their deployment - and assisted with three more. WM Findlay and CM Darcy said it was hard readjusting from the intensity of their time in Turkey, but feel proud to have helped with rescue operations.
WM Findlay added: "The locals were angry at the situation but thankful for our help. I won't forget the feeling pulling people out alive. It was a remarkable feat.
"We saw some horrible things there but I'm pleased we were there doing our best to help people."
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