Mayor Chu praises rescue teams for effort in winter cold
Mayor Chu praises rescue teams for effort in winter cold
Today (3/3), New Taipei City Mayor, Chu Liluan, presented certificates of appreciation to the rescue volunteers of the TransAsia Airway incident. Mayor Chu said that these volunteers braved the cold and worked tirelessly for nine days during the search and rescue mission; their spirit is greatly commendable.
Mayor Chu pointed out that properly equipping the relief team members is essential during a disaster relief. In the future, the city government, through budgeting and requesting funds and support from the central government, will make sure relief team members can work unimpededly.
The Fire Department reported that the New Taipei City Government immediately responded to the incident, engaging in the rescue and consolation of the victims’ family members. The nine-day search and rescue mission saw 96 dispatching of search boats, 640 surface rescuers, and 349 divers.
The Fire Department indicated that New Taipei City’s collaboration with citizen disaster relief teams and volunteer firefighters is first in the nation in terms of participants. These citizen groups assist with warning notification, rescue missions, mountain search missions, typhoon preparation, and maintaining safety at large city government events. These groups have assisted with Kaosiung’s Typhoon Morakot relief, Yilan’s Typhoon Megi, and other major disaster. These volunteers are essential to New Taipei’s disaster prevention and relief efforts.
The Fire Department emphasized that, during the rescue, citizen support poured into the site of the incident. Especially notable were New Taipei’s 19 citizen rescue teams, volunteer search teams, and 3 volunteer firefighter squadrons; they worked through the low temperature and performed exhaustive searches. The department noted that the spirit of volunteers is very commendable, and the department wishes to express their highest gratitude through this public appreciation event.
For more information: Fire Department, Ke Zhaohui, Tel: (02)8951-9119 ext. 6220