• A young girl was rescued by an Emirati team, along with her brother, sister and mother. All photos: Wam
    A young girl was rescued by an Emirati team, along with her brother, sister and mother. All photos: Wam
  • The Emirati search and rescue teams are part of Operation Gallant Knight/2
    The Emirati search and rescue teams are part of Operation Gallant Knight/2
  • The family was pulled from the rubble beneath what used to be their house
    The family was pulled from the rubble beneath what used to be their house
  • The rescue operation lasted more than five hours
    The rescue operation lasted more than five hours
  • The Emirati search and rescue teams are assisting in finding people trapped beneath the rubble
    The Emirati search and rescue teams are assisting in finding people trapped beneath the rubble
  • The boy rescued along with his two sisters and mother
    The boy rescued along with his two sisters and mother
  • Search and rescue teams from all over the world have rushed to assist after the earthquake
    Search and rescue teams from all over the world have rushed to assist after the earthquake
  • Since Monday, thousands of buildings have collapsed, many in the middle of the night, leaving people with little chance to escape
    Since Monday, thousands of buildings have collapsed, many in the middle of the night, leaving people with little chance to escape
  • As time goes on, the urgency of finding victims trapped under the rubble intensifies
    As time goes on, the urgency of finding victims trapped under the rubble intensifies

UAE

UAE team rescue Syrian family trapped under Turkey earthquake rubble

A mother was rescued along with her son and two daughters from what remained of their house

Sarah Forster
Sarah Forster

February 08, 2023

  • English
  • Arabic

Follow the latest news on the earthquake in Turkey and Syria

Emirati search and rescue teams have pulled a Syrian family of four from the rubble in Turkey after earthquakes rocked the region this week.

Under Operation Gallant Knight/2, the team recovered a mother, her son and two daughters from what remained of their house.

The search focused on the Kahramanmaras area and took more than five hours to complete.

Medical teams rushed to attend to the injured family before they were transferred to a hospital in Turkey.

Friends and family of the rescued family were at the site where the house collapsed, according to state news agency Wam, which was with the Emirati rescue team at the time.

The rescue brought a rare moment of joy during a disaster that has so far killed more than 11,200 people.

Nearly 9,000 people have died in Turkey and tens of thousands have been injured by the earthquake in Gaziantep, according to figures from Afad, Turkey’s disaster and emergency authority.

The disaster is now the world's worst earthquake since a 9.1-magnitude tremor and tsunami struck Japan and South-East Asia in March 2011, killing nearly 20,000.

The combined death toll in Turkey and Syria now exceeds 11,000.

More than 900 buildings were damaged in the city of Gaziantep alone.

Aid collected in Dubai to be sent to earthquake victims: in pictures

  • Volunteers fill boxes at Homeward Bound, Al Quoz, Dubai, at in a collection point run by the Turkish consulate. All photos: Chris Whiteoak / The National
    Volunteers fill boxes at Homeward Bound, Al Quoz, Dubai, at in a collection point run by the Turkish consulate. All photos: Chris Whiteoak / The National
  • The collection drive is being sponsored by Turkish Airlines
    The collection drive is being sponsored by Turkish Airlines
  • Members of the public delivered goods to the warehouse all day on Wednesday
    Members of the public delivered goods to the warehouse all day on Wednesday
  • Officials urged donors to bring warm clothing as temperatures plunge in southern Turkey
    Officials urged donors to bring warm clothing as temperatures plunge in southern Turkey
  • Hundreds, if not thousands, of people turned out to help over the course of the day
    Hundreds, if not thousands, of people turned out to help over the course of the day
  • Of particular concern to aid workers is the humanitarian crisis that will result from the earthquake
    Of particular concern to aid workers is the humanitarian crisis that will result from the earthquake
  • Volunteers packing aid boxes in Al Quoz, Dubai, for survivors of the earthquake
    Volunteers packing aid boxes in Al Quoz, Dubai, for survivors of the earthquake
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Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.

Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.

“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.

Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.

“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.

Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.

From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.

Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.

BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.

Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.

Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.

“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.

Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.

“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.

“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”

The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”

Innotech Profile

Date started: 2013

Founder/CEO: Othman Al Mandhari

Based: Muscat, Oman

Sector: Additive manufacturing, 3D printing technologies

Size: 15 full-time employees

Stage: Seed stage and seeking Series A round of financing 

Investors: Oman Technology Fund from 2017 to 2019, exited through an agreement with a new investor to secure new funding that it under negotiation right now. 

Updated: February 09, 2023, 5:09 AM
TurkeySyriaUAE