Taiwan is always ready to dispatch the National Search and Rescue Team immediately for humanitarian assistance in the case of international disasters when a country in distress is calling for aid. To accelerate the travel to where help is needed, Ministry of the Interior(MOI) studied the common practice in advanced countries last year (2021) and decided to charter a flight for future transportation instead of taking regular commercial flights. On one hand, the chartered flight helps save precious time and, on the other, it carries more rescuer workers and equipment for better rescue quality while demonstrating Taiwan’s strength in search and rescue more effectively.
The MOI points out that the special search and rescue team has been seen in action in 6 international humanitarian rescue missions ever since its establishment in 2002, including Bam, Iran; Yogyakarta, Indonesia, Haiti; Christchurch, New Zealand; and eastern Japan earthquake. In particular in the earthquake rescue mission to Haiti in 2010, it took 55 hours for transportation, including transfer. At the end, it took 10 days in Haiti to find 2 survivors and the bodies of 7 victims, a successful search and rescue mission entrusted by Haitian government, UN and international humanitarian aid organizations. It is not only a demonstration of rescue capability of the National Search and Rescue Team, but also a kind act that wins international friendship and respect.
MOI started a excercise program with chartered flight last year in order to accelerate response efforts to international disasters in the first available time with the Foundation for Disaster Relief providing rescue funding. The plan is to charter an international flight directly to where rescue efforts are needed. The flight will be capable of transporting more than 105 rescue workers, more 4 rescue canine units and more than 10 tons of equipment and supplies, saving travel time and helping arrive in the country in distress for humanitarian aids as fast as we can.
As an effort for robust supports for international humanitarian aid systems and vertical and horizontal cross-agency integrated disaster relief mechanism, the MOI says that the Executive Yuan has summoned government agencies and private organizations, such as Civil Aeronautics Administration, MOTC; Customs Administration, MOF; Airport Police Bureau, National Police Agency, MOI; National Immigration Agency, MOI; Taoyuan International Airport Corporation; Taiwan Center for Disease Control; Bureau of Animal and Plant Health Inspection and Quarantine, Council of Agriculture; Foundation for Disaster Relief; and Taoyuan International Airport Services Co., Ltd., to identify standard operation procedures for improvement of rescue performance.
In addition, the National Search and Rescue Team will aim to build the team into an UN INSARAG External Classification (IEC) heavy and medium search and rescue team in the future, and continue to build up search and rescue capabilities so as to fully demonstrate Taiwan's rescue capabilities when performing international humanitarian rescue missions.