** The search group operates in a large area
Lt. Col. Abdullah Eid Al-Muhannadi, Commander of the International Qatari Search and Rescue Group of the Internal Security Force “Lekhwiya” said that their participation in the search and rescue mission in the Beirut port, which was struck by the explosion, is the strongest and largest of its kind, for several reasons, including the force of the explosion and the great damage it left even inside the sea Where he created a hole about 45 meters deep in the sea.
After the group’s return from Lebanon, Lt. Col. Al-Mohannadi explained that the number of participants in the operation reached 52 members of the Qatari International Search and Rescue Group with the strength of Lekhwiya, indicating that the group possesses all devices and equipment for urban search and rescue work related to crises related to collapsed buildings, including equipment, for lifting Dismantling and clouds, as well as airbags, thermal cameras, eavesdropping devices for hearing sounds from under the rubble, in addition to lighting devices.
He added that the group accompanied with it during its mission in Lebanon all the devices and equipment used in urban search and rescue work, in addition to medical tools used by the group to provide the necessary aid to any of its members in the event that he was injured on the job, as well as treating the injured who might be found in case they need medical intervention. Fast.
He stated that there were two field hospitals sent by the State of Qatar, one of which was placed in Al-Rom Hospital and the second in Al-Jeitaoui Hospital, and they were installed by a group of employees of the Qatari armed forces.
Regarding the nature of the operations carried out by the Qatari group during its participation in its humanitarian mission in Beirut, Lt. Col. Al-Mohannadi indicated that the group submitted a proposal to establish a coordination operations room for search and rescue work. This idea was adopted and the room was actually established, as it supervised all search and rescue work that takes place at the port. It was divided into sectors that were distributed to the participating teams.
Finding a dead body and body parts.
Lieutenant Colonel Al-Mohannadi pointed out that the sector that was assigned to the Qatari group is the “C” sector, with an area of 2 square kilometers, and the group in turn divided it during work into 4 sectors. Not even the rest of the groups and other teams participating in the operation, there are people alive in the port, noting that the Qatari group managed, after several days of its work, specifically on August 10, to find the body of one of the victims, and the next morning the group found the remains of another body.
Great confidence in the group, and in
response to a question about the implications of granting the Qatari group a large area of search areas inside the port, he explained that the explanation for this can be summed up in several reasons: The first is the confidence that the Qatari Search and Rescue Group enjoys due to its great international reputation, which it has acquired over the years through its participation The number of international participants, which reached 55, is the Port of Beirut operation, which is the 56th in the list of participations.
8 specializations for the research group
. Lt. Col. Abdullah said that the Qatari group carries 8 specializations in its field of work that cover the field of sea, land and air. There is no team in the world that has this number of specialties except for the Qatari group. He indicated that the second reason is that the concerned authorities in Lebanon seem to have had a background in the capabilities of the Qatari Search and Rescue Group, which is why they were given this space.
He said that the third reason is due to the nature of the sector in which each team works in the port, adding that the sector may be small, but the amount of work in it is large.
He pointed out that the Qatari group did not only work in Sector C, but was also assigned the task of searching once in Sector B, which was assigned to the Greek team.
Our technologies are more than enough, and
whether the equipment that the group brought with it to Lebanon was suitable to deal with the accident. Lieutenant Colonel Al-Mohannadi explained that the equipment and devices that the group took with them were suitable and even more than required, pointing out that the group is keen to acquire all that is new and modern of devices and equipment In the field of search and rescue.
Regarding the most prominent challenges that the group faced during its work in the sector that was assigned to it, he said: As a result of the severe explosion that the port was exposed to, many of the materials and objects in it became above each other, such as cars, for example. This required the need for very heavy equipment to raise these rubble so that the group could search below them. The Lebanese army provided these equipment and removed these rubble, which helped the group find the two bodies.
He stated that the search system used internationally in search and rescue operations is to search first for live victims, followed by searching for the bodies in the second stage. The third stage is the process of re-search to ensure the completion of the search operations.
We overcame the challenges and
said that one of the challenges that faced the group also was that the explosion led to a lot of things flying inside the port over a large area in addition to the presence of materials some of them chemical and some others, but despite that, the group was able to deal with it safely after making sure that it does not form Dangerous to its elements.
And on the safety of all members of the group and whether any of them had been exposed to any injuries during the mission or was exposed to infection with the Coronavirus, he explained that there were no work injuries among the members of the group at all, and that there were no infections with the Corona virus, indicating that the group as a specialist in search and rescue It has taken its precautions well.
He pointed out that after the group’s return to the country, all its employees underwent tests to examine the Corona virus, and the result was negative for everyone, and they are all currently under home quarantine as a precaution.
Regarding the experiences that the group’s participation in the Beirut Port operation added to its members, he said that there are 55 previous international missions in which the group participated before the Beirut Port operation. The port’s mission is the participation number 56 in our list of international participation. However, mission 56 is considered the strongest and largest for the group for several reasons, including the force of the explosion. What happened at the port, which everyone agreed as being the most powerful non-nuclear explosion that occurred in the world, and evidence of its strength is that it caused a hole in the water with a depth of between 42 and 45 meters.
** Aspect of searches
** Search and rescue group
