Turkish consulate says deadline for Canadian rescue teams in quake zone has passed

Turkey's consulate in Vancouver says a private group of volunteers from British Columbia will be the only Canadian search and rescue team in the nation's earthquake zone, after a deadline for others to participate expired.

Canadian federal authorities have not given an official go-ahead to any rescue teams since Sunday's quake that killed thousands, but the consulate says the Burnaby Urban Search and Rescue group was deployed Thursday morning after independently offering help.

The consulate says in a statement the Burnaby team, made up of firefighters and other first responders, "is and will be the only team from Canada'' acting as rescuers in the quake zone.

International Development Minister Harjit Sajjan says Canada's commitment of $10 million to quake relief efforts was the fastest response, rather than sending rescue teams.

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B.C. residents step up to help those suffering in the aftermath of the earthquakes in Turkey and Syria

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More than 100 people are mobilizing in Vancouver to send aid to Turkey as the search for survivors intensifies. So far, more than 7,000 people are dead, and the number is expected to climb.

Sajjan says monetary aid can be quickly distributed and used in relief efforts, while sending rescuers is logistically and geographically challenging, and potentially creates bottlenecks that hamper instead of help.

The minister says Canada should focus on "building capabilities'' of other countries' teams to provide immediatedisaster response rather than having them rely on outside help.

Other teams willing to help

The consulate's announcement comes after a Vancouver-based search and rescue team said it was facing multiple hurdles in its efforts to help out.

Justin Mulcahy, a spokesman for Vancouver's Heavy Urban Search and Rescue Team, says "there has been no official request'' from Ottawa to deploy the team.

B.C.'s Emergency Management Minister Bowinn Ma says the province reached out to Public Safety Canada on Monday morning, just hours after the quake, because such emergency assistance needs to be co-ordinated.

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The enormous scale of earthquakes destruction in Turkey

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CBCs Briar Stewart shows the full scale of the devastation in the Turkish cities of Pazarck and Gaziantep, located at the epicentre of the second deadly earthquake that struck Turkey.

Mulcahy says the Vancouver rescue team is also waiting on international accreditation from a UN-affiliated agency that would allow them to deploy on short notice.

"We're working on that through this accreditation process so we can be in a position in the future to be able to immediately deploy our teams internationally,'' Mulcahy said.

"Our focus has been on having these teams available for use locally, provincially and federally.''

The Vancouver Heavy Urban Search and Rescue Team operates under the city's fire department.

Burnaby team already on the ground

Taylan Tokmak,Turkey's consul general in Vancouver, said Wednesday that a separate volunteer group, the Burnaby Urban Search and Rescue Team, is already in the Turkish quake zone.

"Turkish Canadians living in B.C., they're telling me that they feel really proud that so far, the only search and rescue team from Canada is fromBurnaby,'' Tokmak said.

Tokmak said he's been in regular communication with the team made up mostly of firefighters fromBurnaby, and last he heard they were in a co-ordination meeting with other searchers, many of whom are from different countries.

The 7.8-magnitude earthquake, which razed thousands of buildings in Turkey and Syria on Monday, has killed thousands and wounded many others.

TheBurnabyteam volunteered to helpwithin hours. The consulate sprang into action, helping to arrange travel and accreditation for each member through Turkey's disaster management authority.

"It's just important for us to go help out where we can. We're firefighters.It's just in our nature to go over there and help out with any means possible," said team director Scott Murchison.

"It's a difficult job to do, but we think it's a very important one, especially in areas where people maybe don't have all the help that we do at home."

The team was on its way by Tuesday evening, bringing rescue equipment, tents and other supplies that allow the members to be self-sufficient.

The current plan is for the team to stay in Turkey for about a week, Murchisonsaid, but they're prepared to stay as long as 10 days.

LISTEN | Turkey's consul general in Vancouvertalks about co-ordinating aid efforts:

The Canadian government announced Wednesday it had deployed a disaster assessment team to Turkey, consisting of military and Global Affairs officials.

Tokmak said he believed the federal assessment team was going to help with the reconstruction phase, and Turkey appreciates any help it can get.

The consul general said search and rescuers are frantic to find people who may be alive and buried under rubble in cold winter weather.

Turkey has experienced major earthquakes in the past, and even after seven days, he said it's possible to reach survivors, but the chance grows slimmer each day.

From the images he's seen, the affected areas look like a war zone, Tokmak said.

"It looks like an atomic bomb has exploded there. So, the destruction of a yearlong war elsewhere happening overnight, in my country.''

The quake rocked parts of Turkey with high population densities, including significant numbers of refugees from Syria, Tokmak adds.

He said the Turkish government has given the Vancouver consulate the authority to use Turkish Airlines flights free of charge in order to send donations.

The Turkish community in Metro Vancouver and beyond has been organizing donations at a Vancouver warehouse, sending more than two tonnes of supplies on Tuesday, with a similar load set to depart for Istanbul on Thursday, Tokmak said.

"This will be ongoing as long as we need,'' he said of the shipments.

Tokmak said he was in touch on Wednesday with International Development Minister Harjit Sajjan, who told him the Canadian government is looking to connect with Turkish organizations across the country to discuss potential co-ordination.