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The memory of Mancs, the Hungarian search-and-rescue dog who helped locate a 3-year-old child trapped beneath rubble for 82 hours following the devastating Aug. 17, 1999, earthquake, lives on through a monument in the northwestern Turkish city of Izmit.
The monument at Pismaniyeciler Square has also grown into a symbol of solidarity between Türkiye and Hungary, drawing diplomatic visitors as well as keeping alive the story of one of the most memorable rescue efforts carried out after the Golcuk earthquake.
Hungarian Prime Minister Peter Magyar recently visited the monument while in Türkiye for the 36th NATO Summit. During his stop in Izmit, he also visited the Thokoly Imre Memorial House.
Huseyin Saban, museums chief at the Kocaeli Metropolitan Municipality's Museums and Libraries Branch Directorate, said Mancs, who died in 2006, remained one of the best-known heroes associated with the Golcuk earthquake.
According to Saban, rescuers first let Mancs smell a blanket belonging to 3-year-old Hatira Kaplan before the dog moved into the collapsed structure to search for her.
Mancs eventually worked his way through the maze-like rubble and located the child, who had been trapped for 82 hours, allowing the Hungarian search-and-rescue team to pinpoint where rescuers needed to concentrate their efforts.
Saban said the collapsed structure was highly complicated and required a lengthy operation. During the rescue work, Mancs not only helped identify the child's location but also assisted efforts to bring water to other people trapped inside the rubble.
Mancs, who was also one of the symbols of the Hungarian search-and-rescue team, took part in disaster operations in different parts of the world before he died in 2006.
His monument in Izmit was officially unveiled on April 1, 2023, by then-Hungarian president Katalin Novak during his visit to Türkiye. Kocaeli Metropolitan Municipality Mayor Tahir Buyukakin, members of the Hungarian search-and-rescue team, Mancs' owner and other officials attended the ceremony.
Saban said the monument had come to represent more than the memory of a rescue dog, describing Mancs as an enduring symbol of the friendship that grew stronger between Türkiye and Hungary following the 1999 earthquake.
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"The monument built in Izmit is not only a monument to a heroic dog, but also plays a very important role in strengthening Turkish-Hungarian friendship," Saban said.
Nearly three decades after the earthquake, Mancs' monument continues to stand at Pismaniyeciler Square as a permanent reminder of both the rescue operation and the cooperation between the two countries.
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