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EVOLUTION of U.S.A.R
Following the terrorist attack on the World Trade Centre, (WTC), in New York on 11 September 2001, the Minister with responsibility for fire requested HM Chief Inspector of Fire Services to examine as a matter of urgency the fire service’s ability to respond to major incidents.
The New Dimensions Group was subsequently established to evaluate Fire Service capabilities and to make recommendations to ensure that the fire service is sufficiently trained and equipped to deal with major chemical, nuclear, biological and conventional terrorist incidents on a national scale. As part of the New Dimension project Urban Search and Rescue Training has become key to the National Strategy to form resilience against further terrorist attack. Since 9/11 there have been two major terrorist attacks in Europe highlighting the war on terror is still firmly ongoing.
Madrid March 2004: The devastating attacks saw 10 bombs explode on four trains in three stations during the busy morning rush hour. A total of fourteen rucksack bombs were planned to be detonated 4 failed to exploded. 200 people where killed and nearly 2000 injured.
London : Four suicide bombers struck in central London on Thursday 7th July, killing 52 people and injuring 700. Three bombs went off at 08.50on underground trains just outside Liverpool Street and Edgware Road stations , and on another traveling between King’s Cross and Russell Square. The final explosion was around an hour later on a double-decker bus in Tavistock Square , not far from King’s Cross.
Fifty – nine people have been confirmed as a result of these attacks including four suspected suicide, with 700 injured.
The incident was the deadliest single act of terrorism in the United Kingdom since 270 died in the1988 bombing of Pan Am Flight 103 over Lockerbie , Scotland , and the deadliest bombing in London since the Second World War.
Urban Search & Rescue is primarily the search and rescue operations carried out on partially collapsed or totally collapsed buildings .
USAR also has the capability to cope with heavy transport rescue, wide area search and rope rescue.
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