First USAR team members in Japan tomorrow

The first of the New Zealand Urban Search and Rescue team being sent to Japan will land in Narirta tomorrow afternoon (18.30 Japan time).

Team leader, Fire Service National Director of Special Operations Jim Stuart-Black is among those to leave Auckland tonight.

"We are using a mix of Defence and commercial flights to get the bulk of the team to Japan and expect them to be on the ground within 48 hours of Japan accepting our offer of assistance," he said.

The logistics behind the movement of the 48 team members, their 15 tonnes of equipment, and making sure they all have the correct vaccinations and a full medical check are being worked through swiftly.

"There is a great deal to be done in a short time and we are pulling out all the stops with the assistance of Defence, Civil Defence and other agencies," he said.

Plans are being put in place for the second contingent of the taskforce, which is made up of USAR personnel largely from the North Island, to leave on an Air New Zealand flight from Auckland on Monday morning.

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