Disasters and accidents can happen at any time and anywhere in the world, often without warning. There is a need for professional teams that can deploy rapidly and undertake effective search and rescue operations.
UK ISAR is such a team, a team that is on call 24 hours a day, 365 days a year to respond to a disaster anywhere in the world.
On the 25th of April 2015, a 7.9 earthquake struck the country of Nepal which has resulted in killing over 7900 people, injuring 18000, and destroying over 2 million homes.
The UK International Search & Rescue (UK ISAR) Team was deployed at the request of the Government of Nepal.
We faced difficult challenges getting into Kathmandu airport and after circling the airport for nearly 3 hours and fuel running out the UK ISAR Team was diverted to Delhi (India).
Once in-country (Nepal), there was the frustration of not getting out to the people in need in a timely manner due to landslides & roadblocks, even so, we achieved a great deal.
Valuable assessment work completed in Sindhupalchok ensuring in aid being immediately dispatched to those affected towns and villages, the “making safe” work on the College hospital resulted in over 400 beds and 2 operating theatres becoming available plus the numerous casualties that were treated and in some cases evacuated.
I am proud to be a volunteer of UK ISAR which reached out and made a difference to the communities of Nepal.
A very big thanks go out to everyone that supported the team, here in the U.K. and abroad and our thoughts are still very much with the people of Nepal who will now try and pick up the pieces and get the country returned to some sort of normality before the impending monsoon wreaks further chaos.
