The Croatian search and rescue team is expected to leave the earthquake-stricken Turkey in the coming days, Civil Protection Director Damir Trut told Hina on Monday.

The Croatian rescue team of 41 members and seven dogs, has been participating in rescue operations since Thursday in Antakya, a city in the very south of Turkey, near the border with Syria.

Trut told Hina that this is considered the worst-affected area and that in large parts of the city, any hope of reconstruction and the continuation of any life has disappeared.

He said that the Croatian team has excellent cooperation with other teams and international coordination centres. On Monday, they worked together with the teams from Kosovo and Serbia and previously they also worked with the Ukrainians and Omanis.

The coordination centre began to downsize the number of teams and is discharging the first that had arrived in Turkey because there is no longer a need for this type of search, as the responsible authorities have estimated that “there are no longer any survivors,” Trut said.

Any further possibility of finding someone alive living can be considered a miracle, he said.

The local government is taking over the tasks and is engaging heavy machinery for larger excavations and clearing.

Proud to have helped Turkey

Part of the teams, such as the Slovenian, Montenegrin, Hungarian and Slovakian teams, have already left Turkey, and according to information, the Croatian team could head home tomorrow, Trut said.

In its operations, the Croatian team did not find any survivors in the earthquake which, according to new information, claimed more than 36,000 lives.

“But every life found and saved in that area is a joy and success, because we all gave it a try together and we must be proud that we helped Turkey in these really difficult times,” he said.

The Croatian team arrived fully equipped for ten days to be self-sufficient as there is no electricity or water in the area where the Croatian team was assigned and “it is very difficult to stay” any longer.

The security situation is also problematic, not only because of the destroyed infrastructure that makes it difficult for security forces to work but also because of the difficult psychological situation, added Trut.

Many family members are losing hope that their loved ones will be saved, which is causing anger directed at rescue services, Trut said describing the situation where many citizens lost entire families.