Dr Russell - Christchurch, New Zealand - 28 Feb 2011

Went out at 0200hrs.  Not a great deal of sleep so quite tired.  After further searching, the team conducted a formal seismic and acoustic search using DELSAR (Detection Electronic Listening Search and Rescue).  Amazing piece of equipment and highly skilled operators doing 3-D searches of the building - now effectively the last chance of finding someone alive.  Highly sensitive, it required everyone to stop work, be quiet and wait.  All machinery had to be stopped and we waited in the dark listening to the team conducting their search, shouting into the potential spaces, "Rescue team!  Rescue team!  If you can hear me make some noise!"  An eerie sombre silence followed each call while the search team listened in vain for a reply.  They did pick up the conversation of a film crew 200m down the road, who were politely asked to keep quite while the search continued.  As we really expected, there were no positive 'hits' and whilst there is always hope, I think this to marked a turning point.  The team will keep working 24/7 and as hard and carefully as before but the likelihood is that our best outcome will be to find and recover all the missing bodies to ultimately get them back to their bereaved families.  I don't think 'closure' is a good word, as things will never be 'closed' for those families, but at least they will be able to move a little further ahead in their grief.

Finished work at 1000hrs and back to the BOO for some sleep - despite the noise, actually slept really well for a few hours.

Back on duty again this evening from 1800hrs to 0200hrs - doing 8 hours at a time now.  This evening we recovered two female bodies.  Although unpleasant and not what we'd originally come to do, everyone felt that we had achieved something positive on the shift.  Back to BOO shower and sleep.

Deidre went home this evening and we were back down to four USAR Med Team.