South Africa will send a rescue team to Japan in the hope of finding victims – but the team acknowledge they will largely be assisting in recovering the dead.
The world’s third-largest economy opened for business today, a badly wounded nation that has seen entire villages and towns wiped off the map by a wall of water, leaving in its wake an international humanitarian effort of epic proportion.
A grim-faced Prime Minister Naoto Kan described the crisis as Japan’s worst since 1945, as officials confirmed that three nuclear reactors were at risk of overheating, raising fears of an uncontrolled radiation leak.
“The earthquake, tsunami and the nuclear incident have been the biggest crisis Japan has encountered in the 65 years since the end of World War II,” said Kan.
Members of Rescue SA will join an army of emergency personnel from around the world who are starting to descend on Japan, even turning traditional foes China into compassionate humanitarians.
The mission will see 44 rescuers drawn from Gauteng, the Western Cape and the Free State, along with four dogs and their handlers specially trained to find bodies under rubble.
In addition, Netcare has contributed R1-million to the mission, and among the team are six of the hospital group’s doctors with experience in dealing with trauma victims.
Japanese officials meanwhile are working desperately to stop fuel rods in the damaged reactors from overheating. If they fail, the containers that house the core could melt, or even explode, releasing radioactive material into the atmosphere.
A 20km exclusion zone has been set up around the Fukushima Daiichi plant and a 10km zone around another nuclear facility.
Almost 2-million households were without power in the freezing north, the government said, and about 1.4-million were without running water. Kyodo news agency said about 300 000 people had been evacuated nationwide.
Broadcaster NHK, quoting a police official, said more than 10 000 people might have been killed as the wall of water triggered by Friday’s 8.9-magnitude quake surged across the coastline, reducing whole towns to rubble.
Both President Jacob Zuma and Rescue SA offered their help to the Japanese government immediately after the disaster struck.
And Clayson Monyela, spokesperson for the Department of International Relations and Co-operation, said yesterday it would mount a joint operation, with the government providing financial and other support.
The decision had been made in principle, and details would have to be worked out in consultation with the Japanese government.
While the rescuers ready themselves for their mission, South African Michael McKay has been trying to calm family and friends after an internet message saying he was among the dead went out.
The junior high school English teacher, who lives in Aoba Ward City, about 20km from where the tsunami struck, said on Sunday he was finally able to call his mother the day after the quake.
“I struggled to convince her I was safe. I kept saying ‘I am fine, mommy’. I also struggled to tell her I was about 20km away from where it happened. My mother was happy to hear from me.”
McKay’s family had been unable to contact him after the tsunami struck as there was no electricity and his cellphone was not working.
He said all South Africans in Aoba had been accounted for.
“We are safe. We even invited people to come and have meat (a braai) with us. There are lots of queues of people wanting to buy some goods. A lot of the shops are closed.”
Once in Japan, the South African rescuers will have to contend not only with dropping temperatures but the possibility of radiation exposure.
With this in mind, Rescue SA will be taking along hazardous material specialists to ensure their safety. “We will do whatever we have to do to ensure we don’t expose ourselves,” said CEO Ian Sher.
Specialist equipment will include listening devices, concrete-breaking equipment, and search cameras that are able to peer under rubble.
The International Search and Rescue Advisory Group will tell them where to go. Team leaders are assigned tasks.
Sher is pragmatic and readily admits their role will be to recover bodies.
“It’s not the sexiest, but it’s extremely important that there’s some remains for the families to bury,” he said.
Rescue SA was part of the international effort who last year helped to pull survivors and countless dead following the earthquake that tore through Haiti’s capital, Port-au-Prince.
The team were hoping to leave on Monday morning and will meet up with other international search and rescue crews to co-ordinate their efforts. - The Star