Hong Kong firefighter hero relives miracle of Turkey earthquake rescue as chief executive honours team at special lunch
- Firefighter Leung Chi-wang tells of moment he found survivor trapped in rubble of destroyed building
- Mission commander vows to organise joint exercises with mainland Chinese counterparts to improve city team’s out-of-area operational skills
Hero Hong Kong firefighter Leung Chi-wang on Monday relived the moment he found a Turkey earthquake survivor trapped in the rubble of what had been a block of flats.
Leung said he made his way out of the wreckage and alerted paramedics to move in to assess the casualty, the first rescued by the 59-strong Hong Kong team sent on a mercy mission to the ravaged country.
“I had to back out to let paramedics carry out comprehensive checks on the severity of [the survivor’s] injuries,” the acting senior firefighter explained.
“After their checks, it was reported that the person was breathing with stable vital life signs and only scratches on their head.”
Leung said he returned to the wreckage to put the casualty, found in the province of Hatay on February 11, on a spinal board before his team members met him at an opening to carry them to safety.
