Angus firefighters newly returned from a search and rescue mission to earthquake-hit Nepal spoke today of witnessing the scale of the devastation first hand.
Danny Gall and Steve Nicoll were part of a six-strong Scottish Fire and Rescue Service contingent sent to the country in the immediate aftermath of the 7.8 magnitude quake which struck on April 25, killing more than 8,000 people.
The pair, both training officers at the Scottish fire training college in Perth, formed part of the UK International Search and Rescue (UKISAR) team despatched to Nepal within hours of the natural disaster.
The earthquake epicentre was the village of Barpak in Nepal’s Gorkha district.
Both Angus men were on their first international UKISAR deployment and said nothing could prepare them for the scene on the ground.
Danny, 45, from Kirriemuir said: “Once we got out into the hills it was just complete devastation.”
But the duo have rejected any notion they are heroes.
Steve, from Forfar said: “We joined the team to do a job in situations such as this and it was a humbling experience to see how people who had lost everything, including their loved ones, coped with the disaster.”
The SFRS contingent also included search dog Diesel and owner Gary Carroll on what was also the springer spaniel’s first international mission.
Gary, from Aberdeenshire said his specially-trained canine colleague had been “calm and relaxed” in the challenging environment.
SFRS chief officer Alasdair Hay said: “The Scottish Fire and Rescue Service is extremely proud of each and every one of the UKISAR team.”
For full details of Danny and Steve’s humanitarian role see Tuesday’s edition of The Courier.