Yiu was speaking as the 49 team members who travelled to Turkey, as well as 10 other staff from the Immigration Department and the health and security bureaus, were awarded the inaugural Chief Executive’s Award for Exemplary Performance for their rescue of four people and recovery of bodies in the southeastern Hatay province in the country during their nine-day mission.

The International Search and Rescue Advisory Group is a UN-endorsed body that coordinates global rescue missions and develops search and rescue standards for national rescue teams.

It classifies accredited rescue teams into “light”, “medium” and “heavy” in line with their technical and medical capabilities.

A medium team is able to sustain 24-hour operations at a site for up to seven days and have the ability to perform searches with dogs, rigging and lifting. It is also able to cut structural steel.

The team would also have to pass evaluations on its structure, training programme and performance during a simulation exercise to gain accreditation.

The firefighters sent to Turkey are members of the 160-strong urban search and rescue team, founded in 2009 to carry out rescue missions at structural collapses, landslides and other major incidents.

Yiu, also commandant of the Fire and Ambulance Services Academy, revealed that the present 36-hour final drill for new team members would be made tougher to boost capabilities in an unfamiliar environment, which would also mimic overseas missions.

Hong Kong team sent on Turkey quake mission named as first winner of top award

The bay area is Beijing’s initiative to integrate Hong Kong, Macau and nine mainland Chinese cities into an economic powerhouse.

The Turkey mission was the first overseas operation for the urban search and rescue team since it was established in 2009. The city sent personnel from the Fire Services Department in response to the magnitude 7.9 earthquake in Sichuan in 2008.

The team in Turkey carried eight tonnes (8.8 tons) of equipment, including an unmanned aircraft which could produce a 3D model of the surroundings and life detectors with ultra-wideband radar and acoustics to find heartbeats and breathing signs.

The city’s leader said the drive by the team to achieve international accreditation as part of efforts to strengthen Hong Kong’s global status had Beijing’s support.

He added the collaboration between mainland and Hong Kong rescuers was a clear sign of the success of the “one country, two systems” principle.

“Hong Kong will strengthen cooperation with cities in the Greater Bay Area in disaster prevention, mitigation and relief,” Lee said.

Umi and Twix, two search and rescue springer spaniels who joined the city’s response team, were also honoured at the event and took part in a group photo with the rescuers.

Hong Kong firefighter hero relives miracle of Turkey earthquake rescue

Yiu said rescuers would first check the environment from the 3D models produced by drones before it sent out rescue dogs and life detectors to locate victims.

Acting station officer So Chi-on, a team member, said he shared safety tips on assessing the operational environment with his colleagues during the Turkey mission.

“Even though I am usually a training officer, I am just as much of a rescuer as my colleagues during the mission. Safety is the most important thing,” So said.

Acting senior firefighter Leung Chi-wang, the first Hong Kong rescuer to find a survivor, said the team had adequate skills, but could learn to adapt to site conditions better.

“I was nervous because we had never seen or experienced such a vast disaster site. We anticipated lots of challenges,” he said.

But Leung said he had gained a sense of purpose from representing the city and his department.