Dutch search and rescue team sent to help Morocco earthquake response

A Dutch search and rescue team is heading to Morocco on Wednesday to help search the rubble in the aftermath of a devastating earthquake on Friday. The team consists of six people and four dogs from the Signi search dogs organization, which also helped search for survivors after the earthquake in Turkey in February, NU.nl reports.

It is not too late to help with the search and rescue operation, a spokesperson for Signi told the newspaper. “In Turkey, we found people alive under the rubble after 12 days.” The team will fly from Brussels at 3:00 p.m. on Wednesday and head straight to the disaster area upon arrival. There, they’ll see where they can offer the most assistance. “We have a small, flexible team, so we can easily go anywhere.”

In addition to the trained search dogs, the team will take a thermal camera to search under the rubble. The spokesperson explained that the camera can help them find both surviving victims and remains. Recovering a body helps a lot in giving closure to loved ones, they said.

Morocco hasn’t asked for Signi’s help, but the organization can still go because it is a private aid organization unconnected to any government. “In principle, you prefer to go via a call from the country itself. That was the case with Turkey,” the spokesperson told NU.nl. “But if a country does not make an appeal, you can look locally at what the options are. That is easier for non-government organizations.”

The Signi team will spend a week in Morocco to help wherever possible.