The U.K. is sending a team of search and rescue experts to Japan after it sought Britain’s help in the aftermath of the strongest earthquake ever recorded in the Asian nation that has left 1600 people dead or unaccounted for.
The British government will dispatch a team of 59 fire service search and rescue specialists, two rescue dogs and medical support staff to join the international relief effort in Japan, Andrew Mitchell, Secretary of State International Development, said.
The team will fly from Manchester airport later today and travel directly to Japan as quickly as possible.
“The Japanese Government has appealed directly to us for help. We will immediately dispatch a team to help Japan search for survivors as quickly as possible,” Mr. Mitchell said.
On arrival, they will immediately join the international search for survivors and provide relief materials to Japanese rescue teams.
The team will fly with 11 tonnes of rescue equipment, including heavy lifting and cutting equipment to save the lives of people who are trapped in debris.
Thousands of people are still unaccounted for in Japan after the earthquake and tsunami devastated large parts of the country.
Mr. Mitchell said: “Our thoughts are with the people of Japan as they begin to recover from this terrible disaster.
The scale of widespread devastation is severe, leaving many people unaccounted for and vast areas of the country devastated.”
Members of the U.K.’s search and rescue teams have recently returned from the quake—hit Christchurch in New Zealand and were previously deployed to Haiti and Indonesia.
Published - March 12, 2011 08:08 pm IST
