Chef José Andrés joined the specialized fire rescue team in Valencia (Spain) to help the victims of the earthquake in Turkey

A specialized response team of firefighters from Valencia has been dispatched to Turkey to help rescue victims of the earthquake disaster.

The team flew from Madrid airport to Istanbul on Tuesday and were joined by celebrity chef José Andrés, the founder of World Central Kitchen, who will set up a kitchen in the affected area.

He said he was ‘proud’ to see the Valencia firefighters on board, who then traveled to Adana early Wednesday morning.

15 members of the Valencia Province Emergency and Catastrophe Rescue Unit will work in the southwest of the country and will join volunteers from the Valencian charity IAE.

The team has experience working in areas with collapsed buildings and will help find victims.

Search dogs along with specialized equipment including cameras will be deployed to detect people under the rubble.

The firefighters have also brought with them vital health and medical supplies.

The president of the Valencia Fire Department, Maria Josep Amigo, declared: “We express our solidarity with Turkey and Syria after the terrible catastrophe that the region has suffered.”

“Our thoughts are with the people and our firefighters who will be there to help,” he added.