Irish aid worker tells UTV of 'overwhelming' scenes as team arrives in wake of earthquake

An Irish aid worker has told UTV of the "overwhelming" scenes in the shattered Turkish city of Adıyaman where his team has just arrived.

As the death toll in the huge earthquake to pound Turkey and Syria continues to climb, Kieran McConville said: "As you walk around here you will see people in the streets dazed.

"This is going to become a serious humanitarian situation quite quickly with so many people exposed and with essentially nowhere to go.

"It's overwhelming, seeing the pain and the suffering and the grief all around here, it's quite affecting."

Syrian woman Rajaa Obeid, who lives in Belfast, has two daughters caught up in the quake zone in Aleppo.  She has called for people to urgently support aid efforts.

"My friends died and whole families died in Syria... there are kids without parents, people are homeless, they are cold, they need food."

A dog search and rescue charity from Co Down is preparing to be deployed in the disaster zone in Turkey following the devastating earthquakes.

Ryan Gray, from the K9 Search and Rescue NI charity, is leading a team to assist in the search effort, preparing to travel from Northern Ireland on Friday.

The 36-year-old from Bangor said they were on standby all week, and on Wednesday received the go-ahead from the Turkish government to fly out to the disaster zone.

The self-funded charity has been running for five years and has worked in Northern Ireland, the Republic of Ireland and Scotland, including at the scene of the devastating service station explosion in Creeslough, Co Donegal, last year.

Mr Gray leads a team of eight dogs and 21 operational workers.

He has been involved with search and rescue for 14 years, including working for the Coastguard.

The Disasters' Emergency Committee has launched a public appeal for help, though a range of UK charities.

With millions impacted, those on the ground know the race to get aid to those who have lost it all is urgent.

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