At 4:17 am local time on February 6, 2023 (9:17 am Beijing time on February 6, 2023), a shallow - focus earthquake of magnitude 7.8 struck Kahramanmaraş province in southeastern Turkey. At 1:24 pm on the same day, another strong earthquake of magnitude 7.8 occurred 96 kilometers north of the first epicenter. Ten provinces in Turkey, namely Malatya, Hatay, Kahramanmaras, Adıyaman, Osmaniye, Diyarbakır, Sanliurfa, Gaziantep, Kilis, and Adana, were affected by the earthquake.
After the earthquake, the Turkish EMT Coordination Team released disaster information on the GDACS - Virtual OSOCC (United Nations Virtual On - Site Operations Coordination Centre, referred to as "VO") and continuously updated information on damage and casualties. The AFAD headquarters of the Republic of Turkey (National Disaster Management Center) declared the disaster level as 0090, requested international assistance, accepted international heavy - and medium - sized USAR teams to carry out rescue work, and announced that the entry points were Malatya and Adana airports. Rescue teams from many countries responded.
On February 6, 2023, President Xi Jinping sent messages of condolences to Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and Syrian President Bashar al - Assad respectively over the powerful earthquakes that hit Turkey and Syria. Xi Jinping said that he was deeply saddened to learn of the powerful earthquakes in their countries, which had caused heavy casualties and property losses. On behalf of the Chinese government and people, he expressed deep condolences to the victims and sincere sympathies to the bereaved families and the injured. He believed that under the leadership of the presidents, the governments and people of their countries would surely overcome the impact of the disasters and rebuild their homes at an early date.
On the same day, Xu Wei, the spokesperson of the National International Development Cooperation Agency, stated that we express our condolences and concern over the casualties and property losses caused by the earthquake in Turkey and Syria. We are maintaining communication with the relevant departments of the two countries and are willing to provide emergency humanitarian assistance in light of the needs of the affected people.
After the earthquake, Zhang Yong, the founder of the Blue Sky Rescue Team, based on his years of rescue experience, initially judged that this would be a severe earthquake and immediately organized team members to closely monitor the development of the disaster situation. When the second magnitude - 7.8 earthquake occurred, Zhang Yong made a decisive decision: submit an application to the foreign affairs department, register in the United Nations' VO system, and get ready to launch an international rescue operation to assist Turkey.
After approval, members of the Blue Sky Rescue Team from regions such as Jiangsu, Jiangxi, Chongqing, Hebei, Liaoning, Jilin, Sichuan, Anhui, Gansu, Shaanxi, and Shanxi immediately gathered in Beijing, Wuhan, and Guangzhou with their equipment, preparing to take flights to Turkey for the international rescue mission. The first echelon of 191 people (1 person traveling from Thailand) took off in three batches from Guangzhou and Wuhan on February 8th and entered Turkey on the 9th.
After completing the connection, the Blue Sky Rescue Team was coded as CHN - 11 by the United Nations team. The first echelon was dispatched to Malatya province, which was the coldest and severely affected area in Turkey, becoming the first international rescue team to enter this region.
After entering the scene, the team members, following a brief division of labor, immediately plunged into the search - and - rescue operation. On that day, they located and rescued 1 survivor and retrieved 9 victims.
On the 10th, in the earthquake - stricken area of Malatya, Turkey, the Blue Sky Rescue Team searched for and dug out 1 survivor and 10 victims. The first batch of 61 members of the second echelon set off from Guangzhou and other places to Turkey.
On the 11th, the Blue Sky Rescue Team completed searches at 133 operation sites in the Malatya earthquake - stricken area in Turkey. In total, they located and retrieved 7 victims. The second batch of 46 members of the second echelon departed from Guangdong for Turkey.
On the 12th, the Blue Sky Rescue Team located and retrieved 9 victims in the Malatya earthquake - stricken area in Turkey.
On the 13th, in the Malatya earthquake - hit area of Turkey, the Blue Sky Rescue Team searched for and dug out 1 survivor and 8 victims.
On the 14th, the Blue Sky Rescue Team in the Malatya earthquake - stricken area of Turkey did not find any effective search targets. Based on the actual situation at the scene, the on - site rescue headquarters formulated an evacuation plan.
By the 18th, the team members who had gone to support Turkey gradually returned safely.
During the international rescue operation for the Turkey earthquake this time, a total of 316 team members (including volunteers and those escorting supplies) were involved in various front - line tasks. The rescue work at the Turkey earthquake site lasted for 6 days at 1 work site (Malatya). The team searched for and dug out 3 survivors and 43 victims, and their efforts were recognized by the relevant Turkish departments and the United Nations.