On February 6, 2023, at 04:17, local time, a 7.8 earthquake struck southern and central Turkey and northern and western Syria. making it the largest in Turkey since the 1939 Erzincan earthquake of the same magnitude, and jointly the second-strongest recorded in the history of the country, after the 1668 North Anatolia earthquake. The confirmed death toll stood at 57,658: 50,399 in Turkey, and 7,259 in Syria.
And helped arrived... Mexico is sending some of its famous search and rescue dogs to Turkey to help look for people buried under rubble following February's earthquake.
A plane with 16 dogs on board took off from Mexico City earlier on Tuesday.
Mexico, which is prone to earthquakes, has highly specialized civilian and military teams which are often deployed to help when disasters strike.
The dogs won the hearts of Mexicans during the country's 2017 quake when they saved several lives. The dogs are trained to sniff out humans and alert their handlers by barking and scratching the ground where the smell is strongest.
Proteo was one of those dogs, who participated in saving people who were trapped under buildings. However, this canine hero died during the commission of his duties.
While it was first believed that Proteo died in a building collapse during a rescue, his trainer, Carlos Villeda Maquez, explained that other factors were responsible for the dog’s death. The conditions – including the brutally cold temperatures — were very harsh for the almost 10- year-old Proteo. His body was transported back to Mexico where he will be laid to rest as a hero.
“Proteo, we are waiting for you at home, because a soldier, when completing his mission, returns to his home, to our beautiful and beloved Mexico. Your colleagues from the Mexican Army and Mexican Air Force are proud of you, our great hero,”
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