The Israel government dispatched an 18-man Israeli search and rescue unit from the Israel Defence Forces to Ghana to help locate and extract any remaining survivors in the collapsed Melcom Shopping Mall disaster that took place on Wednesday, 7th November 2012.
Israeli Defense Forces officers employing sophisticated technical
equipment in their search and rescue efforts
The team which arrived in Ghana on Thursday, 8th November 2012, moved immediately from the airport to the disaster zone to assist the Ghanaian rescue team on the ground. The Israeli team has been working in collaboration with the detachment from the Field Engineer Regiment of the Ghana Army currently at the site.
Israeli Defense Forces Officers with Ghanian Army Officers
The rescue team armed with hi-tech search and rescue equipment promptly undertook initial assessment at the site aided by the famous Israeli sniffer dogs that help identify the locations of possible survivors or corpses.
Israeli Defense Forces Officers with Ghanian Army Officers at the site of the collapsed building
In addition to the rescue, Israel placed on standby a support and logistics team including field hospitals, among other measures, to move to Ghana should the initial assessment deem it necessary.
Kenya has benefitted from Israel’s rescue missions in the past during the Nyamakima building collapse disaster in 2006, when a team of over 50 IDF soldiers swiftly moved into the country and assisted the Kenyan Forces in the rescue operation and during the infamous 1998 U.S. Embassy bomb blast.