Zhuo Jian and Wu Mengkai, two members of the Quzhou Blue Sky Rescue Team, left Malatya in Turkiye on Feb 14 after finishing their earthquake relief work.

Zhuo and Wu left for Turkiye on Feb 8 for the international relief mission.

On Feb 10, they arrived in Malatya, one of the areas hardest hit by the earthquake, and began carrying out relief work immediately.

They and local rescue teams worked from 7 am to 5 am the next day in the rubble of a collapsed five-story building outside in temperatures of minus 8 C.

They were part of Chinese Blue Sky Rescue Team Two, which had rescued four people and pulled out more than two dozen victims buried in the rubble as of 2:20 pm on Feb 13.

Zhuo and Wu received gratitude from local people during their rescue efforts.

At the rescue site, a local resident took out his hat and put it on Zhuo, and Wu received a neckerchief from local police.

During a layover at Doha Airport in Qatar when leaving Turkiye, a young Turkish man on the same plane was thrilled to learn that they were aid workers. After arriving in Istanbul, the man also helped them catch a bus.

The Chinese Blue Sky Rescue Team carries out earthquake relief work in Malatya, Turkiye. [Photo/qz123.com]