Turkey-Syria earthquake: Kent firefighter speaks about rescue efforts

Jim Chaston was one of 77 UK firefighters who went to Turkey to help

A firefighter who was part of a search-and-rescue mission after the earthquake in Turkey has spoken of witnessing a "scene of devastation".

A team of 77 firefighters from 14 fire services in the UK travelled to Turkey to join the rescue effort.

Jim Chaston, from Kent Fire and Rescue Service, was among those who spent a week in Hatay Province.

"It's a rollercoaster of emotions. But if you allow yourself [to be] wrapped up in the moment, you're ineffective."

Mr Chaston was able to help save the lives of a two-year-old girl and her parents

Mr Chaston, who was previously deployed to the Haiti earthquake site in 2010, said he was forced to make "difficult choices" about who to help.

"The elation of being able to pull someone out of a collapsed building is actually quite short-lived," he said.

"For every one you're able to be successful on, there's another 10 in the next hour where you have to have that difficult conversation that at this moment in time, we can't find any signs of life in that building.

"I don't think there is anything to prepare you for that."

The 7.8 magnitude quake has claimed the lives of more than 38,000 in Turkey, making it the deadliest in the country's history. In Syria, more than 5,800 people have died.

He has now returned from Turkey to the UK

Among those rescued with the help of Mr Chaston was a two-year-old girl, and her parents.

"With a bit of hard work over a period of about an hour and half, we managed to make a hole big enough and the mother came out relatively easy," he said.

"The father of the girl was quite a bit bigger, so it took a bit more work to make the space bigger, but we did eventually manage to reunite the three of them.

"I'm not going to lie, it was pretty emotional."

Follow BBC South East on Facebook, on Twitter, and on Instagram. Send your story ideas to [e-mail].