Turkey Earthquake: Virginia Task Force 1 Urban Search and Rescue team touches down

GAZIANTEP, Turkey - A Virginia search and rescue team sent to Turkey to help recovery efforts following a catastrophic earthquake is on the ground.

The Virginia Task Force 1 Urban Search and Rescue team from Fairfax County touched down Wednesday.

Images show team members alongside search and rescue crews from Los Angeles County landing in Turkey and exiting U.S. Air Force cargo planes.

The death toll from the 7.8 magnitude quake and its powerful aftershocks rose Wednesday to more than 11,000 making it the deadliest worldwide in more than a decade.

Turkey Earthquake: Fairfax County Urban Search and Rescue Team deployed to help

Fairfax County’s Urban Search and Rescue Team has been dispatched to assist in the rescue efforts following the 7.8 magnitude earthquake that struck eastern Turkey and neighboring Syria Monday.

Search teams from more than two dozen countries have joined tens of thousands of local emergency personnel, and aid pledges have poured in from around the world.

The Fairfax County group is frequently dispatched to emergencies across the U.S. and to different parts of the world.

In 2020, the team assisted in Oregon with out-of-control wildfires. In 2021, the team deployed to Haiti to help in the aftermath of a major earthquake. More recently in the fall of 2022, the team traveled to Florida to help with relief efforts following Hurricane Ian.

Image 1 of 4

▼

Search and rescue experts from Virginia Task Force 1 Urban Search and Rescue land in Turkey (Fairfax County Fire and Rescue Department / USAID's Bureau for Humanitarian Assistance)