A team of about 50 specialists including doctors, paramedics and rescue dogs is expected to leave for earthquake ravaged Japan this evening.
The South Africa team will also be carrying about 16 tons of food, specialised equipment and camping gear, as they make their way to Japan try assist in the search for survivors of a massive earthquake and tsunami that hit the country’s east coast.
Rescue SA spokesperson Ian Scher told BuaNews on Monday the team has started assembling and is now waiting for aircraft clearances.
Scher said they need about R7 million for the operation and at the moment they, standing at R4 million.
“We’re still short of R3 million … its quite an expensive operation to mount, to take so many people half way across the world to go and give assistance,” he said.
The team has to have its own camp, food, rescue equipment, medication and doctors to avoid them becoming a burden on Japan’s resources.
Scher said they have received funding from government, NGOs and the private sector, including Netcare, Discovery, Econet Wireless, MTN and Core Group.
Other organisations such as ER24 and Medhold were sponsoring medication and warehouses, Scher said.
Rescue SA falls under the International Search and Rescue Advisory Group (INSARAG), who coordinate rescue operations. Teams from different countries will report back on a daily basis on progress made.
A massive 9.0-magnitude earthquake and ensuing tsunami hit Japan last Friday, causing widespread destruction and leaving more than 10 000 people dead and thousands missing.
As the nation struggled with the devastation wrought by the twin disasters of a shattered land and a surging sea, tales of terror, death and miraculous survival also emerged.
There is still the threat of a nuclear meltdown, and the first in a series of planned blackouts to conserve power has begun, a third reactor at a nuclear power plant lost its cooling capacity, raising fears of a meltdown.
The stock market plunged over the likelihood of huge losses by Japanese industries including big names such as Toyota and Honda. – BuaNews-Xinhua
Alan Straton
Latest posts by Alan Straton (see all)
- South African Conquers Rats on the World Stage - 30 October 2026
- Old JPG on a Memory Stick? Vectorization Studio in Observatory Redraws Faded and Low-Resolution Logos by Hand - 30 October 2026
- ReAutomated Adds Robot Palletising and Case Packing Cells to Existing South African Packing Lines Without Stripping Out the Conveyors - 30 October 2026
- From a 5 KM Sprint to an Ultra: Punisher Sets Out Its Magaliesberg Obstacle Race Formats for First Timers, Teams and Fitness Clubs - 30 October 2026
- Rotary or Dual Action? Germiston’s Polisher Lists Its Machines, Buffs and Compounds for Car Paint and Metal Finishing - 30 October 2026
We wish them all the best – terrible tragedy.