The contingent rescue team from different agencies conducts a readiness inspection in Camp Aguinaldo in Quezon City on Tuesday before heading to Turkey. John Eric Mendoza/INQUIRER.net
MANILA, Philippines — The 83-man Philippine rescue team has already arrived in Istanbul, Turkey on Thursday, the Office of Civil Defense (OCD) announced.
OCD Joint Information Center head Diego Agustin Mariano said the plane landed at 12:08 pm, Philippine time.
Initially, the Philippine contingent consisted of 87 men but four had issues in documentation.
“There were 87 original personnel given to [Defense Secretary Carlito Galvez Jr.], but two from the OCD did not join due to lack of travel documents and the latest two from the MMDA (Metropolitan Manila Development Authority) did not also join also because of lack of documents,” Mariano told INQUIRER.net in a text message.
The 83-man team comprises of military and medical personnel along with members from the MMDA.
The total number of fatalities due to the magnitude 7.8 tremor in Turkey and Syria rose to over 15,000 people.