A member of an Austrian rescue team watches her sniffer dog as they walk through the rubble of a destroyed building, searching for survivors who might be trapped. A team of rescue workers from Fairfax, Va., has joined the rescue efforts in Turkey. A search team from Fairfax, Va., joined crews from around the world in the desperate search for victims of the fatal earthquake in Turkey. The 70-member team, which includes firefighters, dog handlers and physicians trained to deal with international search and rescue operations, arrived in Turkey today. It is expected to work in Turkey for at least a week, possibly longer.
Officials say the group is up to the task.
Mark Stone, spokesman for Virginia Task Force One. The group is one of two international rescue teams in the nation, and has participated in search and rescue efforts in the Oklahoma City bombing, an earthquake in Armenia, a hurricane in the Philippines and last summer's U.S. Embassy bombing in Kenya. A lot of things should be familiar. Basically we don't know what we're walking into. The team will split into two groups and work shifts searching through the rubble day and night for survivors of the earthquake that has left at least 3,500 people dead.