Japanese rescuers leave for home

PHUKET: In another sign that the island is moving into the recovery-and-rebuilding phase, 49 members of a Japanese rescue team flew back to Tokyo yesterday afternoon after briefing Rear Admiral Tana Bunnag, Commander of the Third Naval Area Command Based at Cape Panwa on what they had achieved.

Team leader Toshimizu Ichigure said that 60 Japanese took part in the successful operation, including volunteer tsunami experts and a medical team.

The group arrived in Phuket on December 30 with helicopter support, and were divided into small search-and-rescue teams operating in and around the Phi Phi Islands and Bang Niang Beach in Khao Lak.

Eleven people – the medical team and the group’s helicopter crew – will stay on to help victims in Takua Pa, he added.