Turkey earthquakes: Lincolnshire rescue dog injured in recovery work

A Lincolnshire search and rescue dog has been injured while working with a response team in Turkey following the devastating earthquakes.

Firefighters from the county are part of an international team in Hatay province who helped rescue two people from the rubble on Wednesday.

Search and rescue dog Colin suffered a "small injury" during his efforts, a fire service spokesperson said.

The team of 77 firefighters from across the UK flew to Turkey on Tuesday.

Firefighters spent Wednesday working on search and rescue operations with the UK International Search and Rescue (UKISAR) team which "achieved two live rescues in incredibly challenging circumstances", according to Lincolnshire Fire and Rescue Service (LFRS).

"The Lincolnshire team had a full search and rescue day [on Wednesday] and will be out with the wider UK operation again [on Thursday]," a spokesperson said.

"As the only international team in the area, the demand for their help is huge."

Lincolnshire search and rescue dog Colin is receiving treatment for an injury but is expected to be back to work on Friday.

He is part of the team from Lincolnshire alongside dog handler Neil Woodmansey, group manager Ashley Hildred Nettleham, crew manager Colin Calam from Sleaford Fire Station and crew manager Mark Dungworth from Lincoln South Fire Station.

Chief fire officer of LFRS Mark Baxter has been in regular contact with the team and said: "The conditions are extremely arduous, the temperatures are plummeting, which makes it even more challenging for them.

"Our firefighters have trained for this extensively, they are very experienced working in these types of deployments so it won't be a surprise for them and they will be extremely well equipped to deal with whatever they are facing."

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