Turkiye-Syrian quake: SMART squad in disbelief as five victims rescued after six days underground

GAZIANTEP (Turkiye): Members of the Special Malaysia Disaster Assistance and Rescue Team (SMART) were struck by disbelief and shock when they discovered and rescued five members of a family who were trapped in the rubble of their residential building for the past six days on Saturday as a result of the devastating earthquake that hit this area.

SMART MAS-01 search and rescue operations officer (SAR) Insp Muhamad Zul Khairi Idris said the cry of ‘takbir’ (Allahuakbar) when the first victim - a teenage boy - was taken out at 1.20pm (6.20pm Malaysian time) almost brought the team into tears.