The members of the volunteer Greek Rescue Team who were in the earthquake-stricken areas of Turkey in order to assist in the search and rescue efforts are making their way back to Greece.

As the Director of Operations of EOD, Alexandros Liamos, told protonema.gr, the group of Greek rescuers who operated in the region of the deadly earthquakes in Turkey to save human lives, is expected to arrive at the “Macedonia” airport in Thessaloniki in the evening.

The volunteer rescuers are currently in Constantinople (Istanbul) and a crowd of people welcomed them like heroes and burst into applause as soon as they saw them.

The video that was published on the official Facebook page maintained by EOD and which captures the moments that the volunteers experienced on Wednesday morning speaks volumes about the warm reception of ordinary Turks for the Greek volunteers. “These are precisely the moments when borders cease to separate people,” the rescuers wrote in the caption.

“Our people met expressions of gratitude from Turkish citizens for the work we offered to the country. I wish we could do more, but we exceeded even our capabilities”, says Liamos.

“We spent 4 days in the field and checked 13 high-rise buildings. We tried exclusively to locate survivors in them. Time was very pressing as we had to find signs of life. The moments experienced by the team were shocking. Moments that will remain forever etched in the memory of all those who were there”, he notes.