Northern Ireland volunteers on stand-by to help in quake-hit Morocco

Both the Co Down based K9 team and the Search & Rescue Dogs Association (Ireland North) have said they are prepared and ready to deploy if called upon.

More than 2,000 people are known to have been killed when Morocco’s strongest earthquake in more than a century struck the Atlas Mountain region on Friday night.

Soldiers and workers brought water and supplies to mountain villages in ruins as international aid crews remained in limbo waiting for the nation to request their help.

Those left homeless by the destruction slept outside on Saturday, in the streets of the ancient city of Marrakech or under makeshift canopies in mountain towns like Moulay Brahim.

The worst destruction is in small, rural communities that are hard for rescuers to reach because of the mountainous terrain.

The magnitude-6.8 earthquake sent people racing from their beds into the streets and toppled buildings in mountainous villages and cities not built to withstand such a mighty quake.

In a social media message on Saturday, K9 Search & Rescue NI said: “We are monitoring closely and preparing to be in a position to assist in Search and Rescue efforts after an earthquake in Morocco. Our thoughts and prayers are with all those affected”.

Speaking to the News Letter, Joanne Dorrian of K9 said the team “would love to get there – to be there to help find people alive”.

She said: “When we were in Turkey earlier this year (following an earthquake), we were still finding people alive on day nine. This is what we train for, this is what we put all our time and efforts into – finding people and reuniting them with their families.

"It’s a very specialist thing that we do. The guys train every week and are constantly assessed on their skills along with the dogs, so they are going to be an asset to Morocco if we get the green light to go.

"We are ready, and hopefully we do get that call to go out and help, because every single person that you can find alive is so important to their family”.

The SARDA (IN) team posted a message on Facebook saying they are “feeling ready,” and added: “Our Urban Search and Rescue (USAR) dog teams are ready to assist in the search for survivors following the #MoroccoEarthquake in Marrakesh.

"Our International Response Team have been monitoring the situation throughout the day and will continue to do so.”

Raph O’Connor of SARDA said: “I’m led to believe that they haven’t officially asked for international aid at this moment in time but that may change. We have four currently qualified urban search and rescue (USAR) dogs and we would probably go with a five-man team from Northern Ireland. The dogs are all ready to go, with all their kit and gear prepared.”

Meanwhile, a doctor from Bangor, Co Down, who has lived in Morocco’s Marrakesh for the past 15 years, has spoken of the “devastation” affecting central Morocco.

Speaking to BBC News NI, Claire McCaughey said: "Those people are starting to make their way to the city".

Although the quake has caused less damage in the city itself, Dr McCaughey said her house was violently shaken, and that she had to "wake the girls up and just kind of run outside in our nightwear, in our bare feet".

Dr McCaughey works in a private hospital where staff are preparing to take in an overflow of patients from the public system.

"The hospital system here is chronically underfunded and overused... there's difficulties with the public hospitals here on the best of days," she said.

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