Red Crescent Rescuers Pull 7,250 People Alive From War Rubble

Tehran – The Tehran governor said Red Crescent rescuers have pulled more than 7,250 people alive from under rubble across the country, and the average response time of rescuers at incident sites in Tehran was 14 minutes.

According to Mehr reporter, Mohammad Sadegh Motadian, the governor of Tehran, praised the performance of the rescue forces in recent wars and said: "This community has set records in the region and the world in search operations, debris removal and rescuing the injured."

Referring to the extent of the attacks in Tehran province, he announced the average time of the rescuers' presence at the scene of the incidents was about 14 minutes and said: more than seven thousand and 250 people across the country have been rescued from the rubble alive by the efforts of the rescue forces.

In this ceremony, the governor of Tehran considered the development of the network of volunteers, the renovation of the relief fleet, the expansion of bases and the use of technologies such as drones and smart systems as factors of increasing the Red Crescent's operational capacity.

He also pointed to the experience of this population in the Khoi earthquake and floods of the past years, and emphasized the role of volunteer forces in managing natural crises and war conditions.

At the beginning of his speech, Motamedian honored the memory of the martyrs of recent wars, commanders, scientists, students who died in Minab and the martyrs of the Red Crescent community, and thanked the rescuers, rescuers and volunteers who were present at this ceremony.

Referring to the history of his cooperation with the Red Crescent in different provinces, he said: In the past years, when natural disasters, including earthquakes and floods, have occurred, he has closely witnessed the activities of the rescue forces.

From earthquakes to relief operations in war

Referring to the relief operation after the Khoi earthquake in West Azarbaijan, the governor of Tehran described the performance of the Red Crescent in that incident as an example of crisis management, which, according to him, deserves to be recorded in oral history and reviewed in educational texts in the field of crisis management.

He said: After the earthquake, numerous aftershocks caused a large number of residents of Khoi, a city with a population of about 400,000, to leave their homes. This situation happened in the winter and in a situation where the cold weather and the fear of aftershocks made it difficult for people to return to their homes.

This member of the government delegation, who was previously the governor of West Azarbaijan, said: The Red Crescent forces, with their presence in the field and the cooperation of other responsible agencies, provided accommodation for people in camps and emergency camps in less than 72 hours.

Pointing to the difficulties of creating basic infrastructure in such conditions, he added: providing water and electricity, healthcare facilities, nutrition services and mobile kitchens in a wide area and in the winter season is a complex and time-consuming operation.

According to the governor of Tehran, this operation was carried out with the cooperation of the responsible agencies, armed forces and members of the crisis management headquarters, but the Red Crescent community played an effective role in the process of providing relief and settling the injured.

He emphasized: The Khoi earthquake experience should be recorded as an example of field actions in crisis management to be used in the training of rescue forces and planning for future incidents.

Motamedian then pointed to his experience of the last two years in Tehran province and said: During the 12-day and 40-day wars, the performance of the Red Crescent Society in various sectors of relief has been remarkable.

Stating that he believes that some of the operations of this population in recent wars have led to regional and world records, he said: The speed of the presence of rescue forces and the extent of rescue operations indicate the capacities that have been created in this complex over the past years.

The governor's account of the attacks on Tehran and when the rescuers arrived

Referring to the number of attacks in this province, the governor of Tehran said: more than 45 percent of enemy attacks were carried out in Tehran province during the wars he mentioned.

According to Motamedian, about 1,300 hits have been recorded in Tehran and more than 23,000 tons of bombs have landed in different areas of this province.

He said: residential areas, commercial centers, historical structures, hospitals, medical centers and schools were also among the damaged areas.

He considered these attacks to be contrary to international rules and protocols and emphasized: damage to medical and educational centers highlights the importance of protecting civilians and critical infrastructure in war conditions.

Motamedian further announced that the average time of presence of Red Crescent rescuers at the scene of incidents in Tehran is about 14 minutes and said: This time is important considering the geographical extent of the city, its population and the dispersion of the hit sites.

Referring to Tehran's population of around 14 million and the floating population of this city, he said: the rapid arrival of rescue forces in such conditions is the result of planning, training, operational maneuvers and developments that have been carried out in the Red Crescent population in the past years.

The Governor of Tehran emphasized: This level of preparedness cannot be considered solely as a result of the presence of rescue forces in the scene, but it should be evaluated in connection with the organization of forces, specialized training and preparation of operational capacities.

He also said: During the recent wars, more than 7,250 people in different regions of the country who were targeted by attacks were pulled out alive from under the rubble with the efforts of rescuers.

Motamedian considered this statistic as one of the outstanding examples of relief performance on an international scale and appreciated the forces that tried to save the injured in dangerous situations.

Rescue operation in case of possible re-attack

Explaining the stages of relief after the airstrikes, the governor of Tehran said: Red Crescent forces are involved in a chain of measures, from scene evaluation and search to debris removal, helping the injured and transporting them to medical centers.

He said: After the attack, the rescue teams must assess the situation of the accident site in the shortest possible time, identify the people trapped under the debris and carry out rescue operations with the cooperation of other responsible forces.

According to Motamedian, these actions are carried out in a situation where there is a possibility of re-attacks and the relief forces may face the bombing of an area again in short intervals.

He added: In Tehran, some areas were attacked on several occasions and with close time intervals, and a number of Red Crescent rescue workers in Tehran and other parts of the country also lost their lives.

Referring to the loss of lives of rescue workers, the governor of Tehran said: "Being in such scenes requires operational readiness, speed of decision-making, and acceptance of risk."

He emphasized: The variety of services, the speed of relief and the ability of troops to operate in high-risk situations are not possible without prior planning and continuous exercises.

In this part of his speech, Motamedian appreciated the rescuers who were present at the scene during the recent operations and said that their activity is part of the country's capacity to deal with major crises.

The increase of Red Crescent members from 460 thousand people to more than six million people

The governor of Tehran called another important development of the Red Crescent society the increase in the number of members and volunteers of this organization.

He said that since the founding of the Red Crescent Society of the Islamic Republic of Iran until 1400, the number of members of this group was about 460 thousand people, but according to him, this number has reached more than six million people in the recent period.

Pointing to the extent of the Red Crescent volunteer network in the world, Motadian said that Iran has a significant share of this capacity and this population, after mobilization, is considered one of the largest popular networks in the country.

He considered the voluntary presence of youth, women and men in relief operations as one of the important features of this group and said that a significant part of Red Crescent activities is based on the participation of people who do not necessarily have an employment relationship with this organization.

According to the governor of Tehran, volunteers enter the field to help their countrymen in disasters such as floods, earthquakes, and storms, as well as in war situations, and in many cases, they provide relief services without expecting to receive personal benefits.

Referring to his experience in cooperation with the Red Crescent community, he said that he has closely witnessed the changes of this group in the past years and considers the increase in the number of volunteers as part of its important developments.