Ford has a long history of lending a helping hand in the wake of natural disasters, including, most recently, Hurricane Ian, as well as earthquakes in Mexico a couple of years ago. As Ford Authority reported last month, that tradition continued in Turkey following a catastrophic earthquake that rocked that country and nearby Syria. A handful of European Ford workers immediately sprang into action and collected much-needed supplies for people affected by the disaster, while Ford Fund chipped in more than $100,000 in monetary assistance as well – efforts that drew praise from Bill Ford, the company’s executive chair. Now, we’re learning more about the heroic efforts of the Ford Otosan rescue team, which helped save a number of lives in the wake of this devastating disaster.
The Ford Otosan Search and Rescue team (FOKE) – which was founded back in 2000 to support search and rescue efforts in the event of natural disasters – recently headed out to Hatay, a small Turkish province that borders Syria, to help locate people that were trapped in the rubble that resulted from the massive earthquake, and wound up rescuing a total of 11 citizens.
When the group of 25 volunteers arrived in Hatay, the city was almost completely destroyed after the earthquake – which measured 7.8 on the Richter scale – claimed more than 55,000 lives in Turkey and neighboring Syria. Undaunted, they spent hours digging through the piles of materials looking for survivors.
“We view saving lives as a holy duty and very satisfying,” said Halil Zeybek, a member of the FOKE team. “When we were making search and rescue activities in Hatay, sometimes we cried from happiness and other times from sadness. We were searching through a collapsed building when someone from another building nearby shouted to us for help after hearing a voice coming from under the rubble. When we arrived at the scene, we continued to talk with him to keep him conscious. His left leg was injured, but he was good. He was so thankful. We cried together with him and his family. We were so happy that we forgot how tired we were.”
We’ll have more on Ford’s disaster relief efforts soon, so be sure and subscribe to Ford Authority for around-the-clock Ford news coverage.
No Comments yet