TEHRAN – An official with Tehran Crisis Management Organization has said the country is seeking to become a member of international urban search and rescue (USAR) teams.

Urban search and rescue teams play a critical role in responding to disasters, and putting together an effective team requires careful planning and preparation.

The concept of USAR originated in the 1960s as a result of the increasing number of high-rise buildings in urban areas.

A coordination meeting was held to assess two urban search and rescue teams in the Tehran metropolis, ISNA quoted Majid Aron as saying.

The meeting was attended by the head of the Tehran Crisis Management Organization, representatives of the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) in Iran, the director of the emergency response unit of the International Search and Rescue Advisory Group (INSARAG) Secretariat in Geneva.

Representatives of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, firefighting organizations, security services, and the Red Crescent Society were also present in the meeting which was held online.

OCHA was established in December 1991 by the General Assembly to strengthen the international response to complex emergencies and natural disasters.

In the first stage, organizing and forming two urban search and rescue teams based on international models was put on the agenda, Aron said.

After that, the Islamic Republic of Iran will become a full member of the international urban rescue and rescue teams, he added.

INSARAG is a global network of more than 90 countries and organizations under the United Nations umbrella.

The INSARAG’s primary purpose is to facilitate coordination between the various international USAR teams who make themselves available for deployment to countries experiencing devastating events of structural collapse due primarily to earthquakes.

The group achieves such coordination by facilitating opportunities for communication between these groups ahead of such events. These meetings of teams have resulted in many practical agreements between them that have streamlined working together during actual disasters.

MG