Brave firefighters have told how the traumatic experience of searching rubble for survivors of Turkey's worst ever earthquake had left them "humbled".

The five south Essex fireman revealed how they came across scores of dead bodies during the vast operation to find survivors but discovered only two people alive in five days of tireless work.

They were forced to painstakingly search through debris in extremely hot and noisy conditions and had to cope with a series of aftershock earthquakes.

At least 18,000 people are known to have died in the disaster and thousands more remain missing. The Turkish authorities have now reluctantly called an end to the search operation and are concentrating on clearing the devastated areas.

Dave Ferris, 39, from Grays fire station, said that despite his extensive training as a member of UK Search and Rescue, nothing could have prepared him for the sight which greeted the team when they arrived in Turkey.

He said: "You go out there thinking you know what you will see but it goes beyond all expectations. It is total devastation."

Immediately upon arrival, the five firemen, plus 29 other UK Search and Rescue members from all over the country, were taken to a crisis centre.

Their first search took place at a four-storey building in Youlva where four people were reported missing. Special listening and thermal imaging devices showed they were all dead.

Their hopes lifted at a major holiday complex nearby, where they pulled a 54-year-old woman from the rubble. She was lucky to escape with only slight injuries.

Andy Beale, who lives in Southend but works at Grays fire station, said: "It's not demoralising to find dead bodies because it means relatives can grieve and move on. It was traumatic - we found lots of dead children."

Rudi Jackson, a South Woodham Ferrers firefighter who lives in Leigh, said the vastness of the clean-up operation was overwhelming.

He said: "There was such a large area affected and so many people involved it seemed impossible but we had our system set up and knew what to do."

The team, which also included Jimmy Jewel, from Waltham Abbey, and Doug Hewitt, a Chelmsford firefighter, are now taking a week off work to recover from their experience. They have been offered counselling to help them deal with what they saw.

The rescuers - pulled dead children from the rubble

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