"On Monday, October 8th, as Hurricane Iris was destroying most of the south lands of Belize. The people of the Belize Diaster and Rescue Response Team and the 5 foreign tourists that worked side by side with us as part of "The Rescue Team" did not spend 14 days in Toledo for a thank you or for recognition. In total, BDARRT and their supporters provided relief of approx 17,000 meals and immediate medical attention to approx 1600 illness over the first 14 days after Iris struck.
One of the most eventful expeditions that BDARRT was part of was the 2005 K2 Medical expedition led by Dr. Keith Brown on invitation of the National Geographic Socienty.
Walter Santos (Present Team I.C) and Lynwen Griffiths who served as the team photographer& videographer, both members of the Belize Disaster and Rescue Response team, were selected to join a multi national medical response team to escort a National Geographic / NASA science team to K2, located in the Himalayan Mountain range in northern Pakistan.
BDARRT was proud to have one of its members become the first Belizean to visit K2! It was an amazing journey and experience.
In November of 2005, during the passage of Tropical Storm Gamma on the Pacific Coast of Central America, heavy rains and low ceiling clouds were to blame for the disappearance of a small privately owned plane carrying a Belizean pilot and two American tourist on their honeymoon. The plane was owned by Blancaneaux Lodge. The plance was enroute from Ambergris Caye to the lodge when it went missing over the Mountain Pine Ridge. Members of BDARRT immediately the call for assistance in searching for the plane and the occupants. After more than 13 hours of searching, the plane was found, but sadly all three aboard were killed.
This response however was vital for the team's recognition as an organization available to respond to all types of emergency calls.
In recent years, the team has been called upon to assist during storm emergencies, rescue and recovery of missing persons- both on land and at sea, providing medical and rescue training for hotels, resorts and NGO's, and also receiving training from the BDF, Mexican Military Medical Corp and more recently in providing vital assistance and emergency response to flood victims of southern Belize just a few weeks ago.
Last year, several team members became dive certified and have been of assistance since then, in search and recovery emergency calls, such as the incident where 7 Belizean business men went missing of the coast in their fishing boat and only one of them has so far been found, and just two weeks ago in the case of a missing teenager from a village in the Belize River Valley.
The Team is making important contacts with NEMO- National Emergency Management Organization in Belize and through the Belize Defense Force.
BDARRT will be announcing training dates throughout the year and these will be open to individuals from all organizations and across the country. These dates will be posted on our blog site and notices will be sent out by email.
