HK Rescuers Begin Search In Quake-ravaged Hatay

A search and rescue team from Hong Kong on Saturday arrived and began work in Hatay in southern Turkey, one of the cities devastated by Monday's massive earthquake.

Following risk assessments, the team has deployed search-and-rescue dogs and used drones to look for survivors in rubble.

Writing on Facebook, Secretary for Security Chris Tang said the rescue team was in a race against time to find survivors under extreme weather conditions. He thanked them for their work and urged them to be careful.

The 59-member team is being led by Deputy Chief Fire Officer Yiu Men-yeung and comprises firefighters and ambulance crews, as well as officers from the Security Bureau, the Immigration Department and the Department of Health.

Figures released on Saturday showed that the death toll from the quakes exceeded 24,150 across southern Turkey and northwest Syria.

Sixty-seven people had been clawed from the rubble in the previous 24 hours, Turkish Vice President Fuat Oktay told reporters overnight. About 80,000 people were being treated in hospital, while 1.05 million left homeless by the quakes huddled in temporary shelters, he added. (Additional reporting by Reuters)