by - Mexico sent a team of its famous search and rescue dogs to help locate survivors of the earthquake in Turkey.
- Dogs are trained to sniff out humans in rubble.
- At least 16 dogs were shipped from Mexico to Turkey, according to Mexico’s foreign secretary.
Mexico sent a team of its famous search and rescue dogs to help search for survivors in the rubble after the devastating earthquake that hit Turkey and Syria on Monday.
A plane carrying 16 of the dogs took off from Mexico on Tuesday, according to Mexican Foreign Secretary Marcelo Ebrard.
—Marcelo Ebrard C. (@m_ebrard) February 7, 2023
Ebrard shared several photos of the dogs, including Belgian Malinois, Australian Shepherds and Labradors.
A dog and its handler sent by the Mexican Navy to search for earthquake survivors in Turkey.
@m_ebrard/Twitter
Along with the dogs and their handlers, the flight also included search-and-rescue experts from the Mexican army, members of the navy, foreign ministry officials and members of the Red Cross, a government statement told CNN.
Search and rescue dogs rose to prominence in 2017 after they aided rescue efforts following the Mexico earthquake that killed hundreds of people.
A yellow Labrador retriever named Frida, memorably pictured wearing boots and goggles, became a national icon after she was seen helping in the search for survivors.
Frida, a dog rescued from the Mexican Navy, participates in the search effort for people trapped at the Rebsamen school in Mexico City on September 22, 2017, after an earthquake.
Omar Torres/AFP via Getty Images
She was credited with rescuing a dozen people in Haiti in 2010 and located more than 40 bodies in multi-country operations over nearly a decade.
Although Frida died last year, another dog that helped with rescue efforts from the 2017 earthquake was among those who traveled to Turkey, the BBC reported.
Mexico isn’t the only country to send dogs, with canines and their handlers also being sent from the United States, United Kingdom, Croatia, Czech Republic, Germany, Greece, Libya, Poland and Switzerland, according to the BBC.
A dog from Mexico searches for earthquake survivors in the rubble in Adiyaman, Turkey.
@m_ebrard/Twitter
The animals are trained to sniff out humans and are often used in areas where the use of heavy machinery could cause rubble to collapse and put people in danger.
The 7.8 magnitude earthquake killed more than 24,000 people, officials said on Saturday.
Survivors are still being evacuated from devastated buildings five days after the earthquake.
Two women trapped for 122 hours have been discovered alive amid the rubble of collapsed buildings in Turkey, officials said on Saturday, Reuters reported.
