Department of Information and Tourism, Taipei City Government

A search and rescue task force from Taipei City has departed for Haiti on January 15. The island nation suffered blows from a devastating earthquake earlier this month.
The task force consisted of 33 individuals, including 12 rescue workers from the Taipei City Urban Search and Rescue Team (USRT), 15 members from the Red Cross Society of the ROC, and 6 medical staff from Tri-service General Hospital.
At Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport, the team members received the city flag from Mayor Hau Lung-bin. He encouraged the members to do their best to save lives and offer medical assistance to those in need at the scene of the disaster.
According to Hau, Taipei City has taken an active role in carrying out international search and rescue operations. Whenever a major disaster occurs, Taipei’s search and rescue team will depart for the scene at the first moment.
Hau explained that the difficulty in obtaining visa documents for team members led to the delay of the trip. Despite missing the critical 72-hour rescue period, Hau is confident that the presence of the local rescue team will still make a difference.
The 33-member task force is equipped with search and rescue devices, including life sign detection sensors, medical equipments, and rescue tools. The team also carries enough food and water to allow independent operations for up to seven days.