The Indian Army has set up a field hospital in the Hatay region of Iskenderun in earthquake-hit Turkey to help victims, as part of the ongoing ‘Operation Dost’. 

The Army has been providing medical aid and relief material to the people in a school building where the 60 Para Field hospital has been set up.

Lieutenant Colonel Adarsh, second-in-command, 60 Para Field Hospital, said that their team consists of 96 persons and has orthopaedic specialists, surgeons, and maxillofacial surgeons to take care of multi-trauma cases that are expected in such a disaster. He said that they have performed 10 surgeries, including the amputation of a patient who had recovered from the rubble.

Lieutenant Colonel Adarsh said that local people are grateful for the services that they are being provided by the Indian doctors.

“I can see it in their eyes, even if they are not expressed in the language that we understand that they are grateful for the services that we are providing to them. It is very obvious in their eyes when I look into them,” Lieutenant Colonel Adarsh said.

“We received 350 patients since yesterday and 200 patients since this morning. We have done around 10 surgeries, but worth mentioning one is the amputation of a patient who was recovered from the rubble after four days. So it was a miracle that he survived,” he said.

Lieutenant Colonel Adarsh said that they were fully equipped when they mobilised.

“When we mobilised, we were fully equipped. We had our own Ambulances, we had our own light vehicles, we had our own army trucks, we had ration and medical equipment which could sustain us for 14 days and the Indian Army is giving us replenishments in the form of whatever equipment or logistic support we require. So, C 17 has been flown in from India as and when required as per our requirement,” Lieutenant Colonel Adarsh said.

Lauding the courage of Turkish people, he said, “I must mention that the people of Turkey that they are very strong-hearted and the community spirit that they have a lot of volunteers have just poured in from all corners of the country and they are providing interpreters, interns, nurses, pharmacists, doctors, whatever is required to run a facility like this.”

Furkaan, a Turkish national, expressed gratitude to the Indian Army as it was the first group that reached Iskendrun. He said that people with all health issues were being treated in the Para Field hospital.

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