Rescue dog dies during Turkey earthquake rescue mission

Proteo died after helping find two survivors of the Turkey-Syria earthquake

Turkey honours rescue dog who died during earthquake rescue mission (Red Cross/ @CruzRoja_MX)

Humanitarian aid charity the Mexican Red Cross has released a video honouring a rescue dog who died while carrying out a mission in Turkey.

Posting on Twitter, the charity paid tribute to the dog, called Proteo, who died after helping find two survivors of the Turkey-Syria earthquake, according to local reports. The cause of death has not been reported.

It shows rescue staff standing in a square formation in silence before applauding.

“Today we say goodbye with honors to a great canine, an element of the @SEDENAmx who always worked with courage and courage,” the charity wrote.

“Thank you ‘PROTEO’ we take care of you from a better place and guide our pairs in each search.”

Proteo was one of sixteen rescue dogs the Mexican government sent to Turkey last Tuesday to assist with the rescue effort in the country. The dogs had previously been deployed when there was an earthquake in Mexico in 2017, the BBC reported.

The secretariat of national defense, a Mexican government department, issued a statement saying: “As members of the Mexican Army and Air Force, we are deeply saddened by the loss of our great comrade, the dog named Proteo. You fulfilled your duty as a part of the Mexican team in the search and rescue efforts we carried out for our brothers in Turkey. Thank you for your heroic work.”

The Independent is appealing for help in raising urgently needed funds following the deadliest earthquake to hit Turkey and Syria in almost a century.

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It comes as more than 33,000 people have died after the immense 7.8-magnitude earthquake struck parts of Turkey and Syria last Monday. The toll is expected to increase as rescue crews stop finding survivors ove the coming days.

UN aid chief Martin Griffiths described the earthquake as “the worst event in 100 years in this region” and predicted that the death toll would at least double.

Speaking during a visit to the Turkish city of Adana, he said: “I think it is difficult to estimate precisely as we need to get under the rubble but I’m sure it will double or more. That’s terrifying. This is nature striking back in a really harsh way.”

The rescue dogs are trained find survivors in rubble, by sniffing out humans and alerting their handlers by barking and scratching the ground where the smell is strongest.

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