Turkish health team to bolster search and rescue efforts: Minister

ANKARA

A new and specialized division within Türkiye’s National Medical Rescue Team (UMKE) designed to support search and rescue efforts alongside medical interventions called UMKE Atak has been established, Health Minister Fahrettin Koca has announced.

This new step is aimed to ensure that UMKE teams will assume a more effective function during disasters, Minister Koca said in his statement, underlining that UMKE teams are the first to reach disaster and emergency areas, especially following earthquakes.

“The current number of UMKE volunteers has reached 15,200 and they are organized in all 81 provinces. We know that citizens rightfully expect the UMKE team that goes to the field to provide medical support to bolster search and rescue activities as well, especially during disasters. Thus, we created a subdivision within UMKE to carry out search and rescue activities in addition to the medical services of the team,” Koca said.

The members of the subdivision will also be a team of volunteers, the minister added, stating that from now on UMKE will officially provide both search and rescue activities and emergency medical services.

Noting that UMKE teams showed outstanding efforts in the field during the deadly earthquakes centered in Kahramanmaraş, Koca pointed out that 5,332 members of UMKE helped in search and rescue activities in all earthquake zones.

The new off-road vehicle given to UMKE to be used in disaster zones called ATAK has its own specialized communication system and can operate for a week without the need for electricity owing to the wind turbine and solar panels on the vehicle’s surface.

UMKE was established in 2003 under the roof of Emergency Healthcare Services in the aftermath of the devastating Marmara earthquake in 1999.