Mexico has sent its beloved goggle-wearing search and rescue canine unit--famous for skillfully assisting emergency response teams in the event of disasters--to the earthquake-hit regions of Turkey.

A flight carrying 16 specialist rescue dogs took off from Mexico City in the early hours of Tuesday to join the search efforts for survivors trapped under the rubble in the aftermath of the powerful 7.8 magnitude earthquake that rocked Turkey and neighboring Syria on Monday, BBC reported.

The canines, who were distinguished by their iconic goggles and booties, particularly came into the limelight after they helped save people following Mexico's Puebla earthquake in 2017.

Mexico's Foreign Affairs Secretary Marcelo Ebrard announced on Facebook the gesture was a mark of the nation's solidarity with Turkey.

"The Mexican canine pairs are ready to support the rescue efforts in Turkey," Ebrard wrote on Facebook. "Pride of our 🇲🇽! With them is the goodwill and spirit of solidarity of the Mexican people."

The canine unit is accompanied by search and rescue personnel from the Mexican army, foreign ministry officials, and members of the Red Cross, CNN reports.

The team of canines heading to Turkey includes Orly and Balam, two border collies who work with the Mexican Red Cross, as well as a veteran rescue dog named Ecko, a Belgian Malinois who has been a part of the rescue teams in the 2017 Puebla earthquake, People reported.

The rescue unit landed in the Turkish city of Adana, a city located near Gaziantep, the epicenter of the Monday earthquake.

Other than Mexico, Germany, Greece, Switzerland, the UK and Croatia are also sending their canines with handlers.

The dogs are used to sniff out people under the rubble, when the usage of machinery might put the lives of survivors at risk.

Dozens of nations have also sent humanitarian aid to Turkey and Syria, which are reeling under deaths and crumbled remains of buildings after the deadliest seismic event hit the nations, since the 2011 tsunami, with search and rescue efforts getting increasingly impeded by the sub-zero temperatures and as many as 200 aftershocks.

It's a race against time for the emergency teams, who are laboring to pull out survivors from under the wreckage. A death toll of over 16,000 has been reported so far, with the figures expected to rise as the rescue work progresses. As many as 60,000 people have been injured in Turkey, plus 5,000 more on the Syrian side of the border.

The massive earthquake that struck Turkey and Syria is already among the deadliest this century
AFP
Mexico