Thibaud Hue, edited by Loane Nader
In Syria and Turkey the number of victims caused by the earthquake of February 6 continues to increase but yet the search for survivors is coming to an end. The French firefighters then return from their mission with sometimes a feeling of helplessness, as Captain Marc Antoine confided to the microphone of Europe 1.
After 11 days of relentless searches in Turkey and Syria, for the rescuers, the chances of finding survivors diminish with each passing hour. The rescue missions therefore end in the frustration of not being able to help all the victims, but in the satisfaction of having organized themselves in the best possible way in the allotted time.
Captain Marc Antoine, head of the Essonne firefighters detachment, returned from his mission this Friday morning, still stunned by an intense experience. “It’s a remarkable mission on all levels. A chaotic situation in which we try to find our bases, our organization.” The firefighter will keep the memory of a relationship of mutual aid and exchange with the victims: “An exceptional relationship with the locals, from a human point of view, we collaborated with them, on the sites where we worked. “
“We feel helpless in the face of certain buildings”
But the impression of being ineffective remains difficult to overcome when one dedicates one’s life to rescue in rugged locations, such as those of the earthquake. “On some, we knew that we had a chance of finding victims, others, it seemed much more complicated… we sometimes feel helpless in the face of certain construction sites, certain buildings.” Marc Antoine recognizes all the same the particularity of the task entrusted to him with his team. “In France, we are used to working on a building affected by a collapse, but not on an entire city. Casually, setting up a detachment and a camp of 65 people in total autonomy for ten days in a devastated country, it’s a hell of an organizational experience.”
The captain can now rest for a while before putting on his firefighting gear for further interventions.