Icelandic search and rescue team among the first to Haiti

A 37-man strong Icelandic International Search and Rescue Team has landed in Port-au-Prince, one of the first rescue teams to reach Haiti following the devastating earthquake which hit 24 hours ago.

The Team, which landed in Port-au-Prince at 4PM local time, is a highly trained group of search and rescue specialists, fully equipped and self sufficient for up to seven days in the field, bringing with them 10 metric tonnes of their own tools and equipment, three tonnes of water, tents, advanced communication equipment and water purifying capability.

The Icelandic International Search and Rescue team is deployed by the Icelandic Foreign Ministry. It has extensive experience in rescue operations following serious earthquakes, for example in Turkey and Morocco. It is an INSARAG (International Search and Rescue Advisory Group of the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, OCHA) certified medium urban search and rescue team.

Foreign ministry officials have coordinated with the Haitian authorities, which have welcomed the swift response from Iceland.