PAKISTAN EARTHQUAKE

We would like to offer our sincerest sympathy to the Pakistani community and especially those of you with friends and relatives in the Kashmir region.

The 7.6 magnitude earthquake that struck close to Muzaffarabad in Pakistan-administered Kashmir on 8 October is known to have caused about 41,000 deaths and devastation that may take a decade to repair.

Pakistan confirmed 39,400 deaths without specifying how many of them occurred in its sector of Kashmir while India recorded 1,330 in its sector. Tens of thousands were injured and at least two million left homeless in the quake zone, the vast majority of them in Pakistan-administered Kashmir.

The final death toll in Pakistan-Kashmir alone may exceed 54,000, according to the regional prime minister, Sikander Hayat Khan, with some 70,000 injured.

The following members of the UKFSSART dog team deployed.

-  Neil Woodmansey & Hollie. Specialist dog handler.
-  Chris Pritchard. Coordinator / safety for dog team.
-  Steve Hogg.  Deployed as part of Lincolnshire FRS SAR team without a dog.
-  Mick Dewar. Deployed as part of Greater Manchester FRS SAR team without a dog.

A small team from the UKFSSART dog team were deployed with other members of UKFSSART to assist in the search and rescue operations.  The team were deployed for 9 days and worked in the city of Muzaffarabad and surrounding areas in the northern region of Kashmir.

Panorama View of Muzafarabad

It has been highlighted by the UN that this has been the most successful SAR mission in recent years in rescuing over 24 lives during the search and rescue phase of this operation.  UK teams rescued over 14 individuals from collapsed structures.

A selection of the photos taken during the deployment.

How do earthquakes happen.