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Los Angeles search & rescue team, K-9s help with rescue efforts after deadly Turkey quake

Rescue crews and K-9s land in Turkey to assist with rescue efforts following a devastating 7.8 magnitude earthquake. (@lacountysearchdogs, @Resqman)

Crews from the Los Angeles County Search and Rescue Team are in Turkey helping with rescue efforts after a devastating earthquake killed over 28,000 people.

The 7.8 magnitude quake left millions of people homeless as crews continue searching among the rubble for survivors.


Mike Leum, an LASD search and rescue veteran, shared pictures and footage on social media of a dramatic rescue operation.

“We can hear a woman’s voice in the rubble,” said Leum. “She has a baby. Trying to get to her now.”

Photos show LASD crew members descending into rubble in search of the trapped woman. A video later showed a woman and her son being rescued as a ton of crew members surround the area.

“BOTH 52yr old mother and 18yr old son have been rescued!!!” Leum Tweeted. “Amazing teamwork with international rescue teams! LASD SAR is honored to be a part.”

K-9s with the L.A. County Search and Rescue teams are also assisting on the ground in Turkey.

Officials shared a video of rescue dogs touching down in Turkey after a long 20-plus hour flight. 

Another photo shows an L.A. County K-9 hard at work searching among the rubble.

“K9 Diva checking in with Handler FFS Baldovin during their first night searching for victims in #türkiye,” officials said in an Instagram post. “Our K9 teams have been tirelessly working around the clock with their USA-2 teammates in search of victims that are still missing.”

More than a dozen survivors were rescued Saturday, including a family in Kahramanmaras, the Turkish city closest to the epicenter of Monday’s quake,” the Associated Press reported. Survivors both young and old were still being found alive, with rescuers calling their survival miraculous.