Iran dispatches rescue team with sniffer dogs to help Afghanistan’s earthquake rescue efforts

The Iranian Red Crescent Society (IRCS) on Sunday sent rescue teams, relief items and two sniffer dogs to Herat, in Afghanistan, following Saturday’s deadly earthquakes that have left over 2,000 people dead and hundreds injured.

After receiving a request for assistance from the Afghanistan Red Crescent Society, the Iranian Red Crescent Society (IRCS) sent in a rapid response team with rescue vehicles and related equipment, said Mohsen Zakarian, the head of IRCS in Iran’s Khorasan province.

“The Red Crescent Society of this province prepared 21 rescue forces, 11 operational rescue vehicles, 2 sniffer dogs, and relief items related to accommodation and feeding 500 families and is sending them,” Zakerian told Iranian media.

Save the Children is another organization that has sprung into action to help thousands of families affected by this tragedy. The organization said Sunday it is deploying emergency humanitarian assistance and is coordinating its response with partners, which will include cash distributions for families, baby hygiene and children’s wellbeing kits, and mental health support for children.

Arshad Malik, Country Director for Save the Children in Afghanistan, said: “The scale of the damage is horrific. The numbers affected by this tragedy are truly disturbing – and those numbers will rise as people are still trapped in the rubble of their homes in Herat. Our thoughts and condolences are with all those who have lost loved ones.

“Thousands of children and families are now without homes, without shelter. They have lost everything. The terror of aftershocks and buildings collapsing has forced families out into the open in Herat.

“This is a crisis on top of a crisis. Even before this disaster, children were suffering from a devastating lack of food. Donors must provide lifesaving humanitarian assistance. This new emergency requires new funding. Without an urgent injection of money, existing humanitarian programmes will be impacted as already overstretched funding is strained further. The international community cannot turn its backs on children in Herat who need urgent help.”