GAZIANTEP: The two "Batang Kali heroes" in Malaysia's search and rescue (SAR) team to Turkiye are always prepared to serve even though they are on foreign land.

The action of the two tracker dogs, named Denti and Frankie, belonging to the K9 unit of the Malaysian Fire and Rescue Department (JBPM) in tracking victims buried under the concrete rubble is proof of their agility.

The very cold weather and thick dust seem not to have any effect on the Labrador and English Springer Spaniel as they sniffed in every crack and hole in the rubble to detect the presence of trapped victims.

With their tails wagging, Denti and Frankie continue to focus on listening to their handler's commands, like where to sniff and which crevices to enter.

Their handlers, fire officers Tony Albert Mani and Y. Thibagaran, however, expressed some concern because there were many sharp objects and concrete irons that could cause injury to the two 'heroes'.

Thibagaran, who is Frankie's handler, said the two dogs had no problems adapting to the cold weather in Nurdagi, which can reach -10 degrees at night as they were a breed from a country that also had winter.

"So far, these two dogs have no problems, healthwise and in terms of their food. They are in the best condition and are ready to go down to the location at any time when needed," he told Bernama.

Denti and Frankie have been assigned, along with the MAS-01 SMART and MAS-10 teams, in the SAR operations at several locations here.

Meanwhile, the chief commander of JBPM's Malaysian Special Tactical Operation Rescue (STORM) team, Ismail Abd Ghani said apart from the two tracker dogs, JBPM also brought special tools for use in the SAR mission in Nurdagi, which included tracking tools, metal cutters, buffers and concrete breakers.

"A total of 30 firefighters from Malaysia are involved in this mission, involving STORM and the special Hazardous Materials Management team (Hazmat) members who are experts in SAR and EMRS work," he said.

A large earthquake measuring 7.8 on the Richter scale hit southern Turkey and northwestern Syria last Monday, claiming thousands of lives. The aftershocks were also felt in Cyprus and Lebanon.

Turkiye has declared a three-month state of emergency in 10 provinces namely Adana, Adiyaman, Diyarbakir, Gaziantep, Hatay, Kahramanmaras, Kilis, Malatya, Osmaniye and Sanliurfa to ensure the SAR mission runs smoothly.

-- BERNAMA