A TEN strong team from search and rescue charity Rapid-UK have travelled to the Kenyan capital Nairobi, to help find survivors after a four-storey building collapsed. At least 12 people were killed and around 200 more are feared trapped in the building in central Nairobi which collapsed on Monday, January 23. The Rapid-UK team will use its specialist equipment such as disc cutters, thermal image cameras and sound location devices to search the collapsed building for survivors, and its skills to recover them. Arrangements have also been made for a crane to be on site, along with wood for propping and shoring to prevent further collapse. Rapid-UK are the only British personnel to be sent to the region. Rescue teams from the United States and Israel have also joined the international operation. More than 100 people have been taken to hospital following the disaster and an urgent appeal has been made for residents to donate blood. Rapid-UK (Rescue And Preparedness In Disasters) operates both abroad and in the UK in the search and rescue of casualties following major disasters. The charity, with its head office in Okehampton, is also involved in the training and development of local disaster management teams in areas of the world vulnerable to large-scale natural disasters. These teams are currently being set up in Columbia, Pakistan and India. Using specialist training, skills and expertise, Rapid-UK volunteer teams have to date attended earthquakes, floods and hurricanes in more than 24 countries around the world, including last year?s devastating earthquake in Pakistan ? Rapid-UK successfully pulled seven survivors from the rubble of a collapsed apartment building. Rapid-UK is supported 100% by donations from the public, and all its members are volunteers.
