Language barrier, extreme weather pose challenge to Philippine rescue team in quake-hit Turkey

Language barrier and the extreme cold weather are among the challenges the Philippine rescue team are facing in their operations in quake-hit Turkey, the Philippine Emergency Medical Assistance Team (PEMAT) said Monday.

"Ang major challenge po natin, Number 1, is yung extreme weather ... Pangalawa po yung language barrier,” PEMAT leader Dr. Alfonso Danac said at a press conference.

[Our major challenge is, number 1, the extreme weather. Second is the language barrier.]

According to him, many people in Turkey cannot speak in English. The Office of Civl Defense (OCD) said interpreters are present in the area of operations.

OCD spokesperson Assistant Secretary Bernardo Rafaelito Alejandro IV said PEMAT field hospital has served a total of 55 patients so far.

Meanwhile, the Philippine urban search and rescue team has conducted operations in 20 collapsed buildings, according to Alejandro.

The Philippine rescue team is on their fourth day of operations and is assessing if their two-week stay will need to be extended, according to Alejandro.

On Friday, the Philippine Embassy in Turkey said two Filipinos were killed in the earthquake. The embassy said it is processing the repatriation of the victims' remains.

On February 6, a 7.9 magnitude earthquake hit Turkey that killed around 28,000 people in the country and Syria as of Monday.

The Philippines sent an 82-man team to help in the rescue operation in Turkey. — RSJ, GMA Integrated News