TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — The 130 rescue workers and five dogs Taiwan sent to the earthquake disaster area in Turkey returned home to widespread praise Wednesday (Feb. 15).

In the aftermath of the massive Feb. 6 tremor, the Taiwanese teams saved three people from under the rubble. Before leaving Turkey, they handed over four tons of equipment to their local colleagues, and during their passage through Istanbul Airport, bystanders recognized them and gave them five minutes of applause, the Liberty Times reported.

Upon their arrival in Taiwan on Wednesday afternoon, the rescue workers were reunited with their families, while government leaders praised their performance. Interior Minister Lin Yu-chang (林右昌) said their actions had received international acclaim, and Turkish representative in Taiwan Muhammed Berdibek, who earlier in the day thanked the volunteers who had sorted relief goods donated by the public, also lauded the rescue workers, noting they had been the first foreign team to arrive at the scene of the disaster.

One of the three people saved by the Taiwanese had been buried for 198 hours, leading Berdibek to describe his rescue as a miracle, Radio Taiwan International (RTI) reported.

In the meantime, donations from the Taiwanese public to Ministry of Health and Welfare (MOHW) accounts reached NT$682 million (US$22.48 million) by Tuesday (Feb. 14) evening, an increase of almost NT$200 million from the previous day.