On Monday 26 August, search and rescue dog teams from our Thai member organisation Thailand Rescue Dog Association (Thai-RDA) were alerted after a landslide occurred in a high-speed railway tunnel that is currently under construction. The Thailand Urban Search and Rescue (USAR) team requested canine assistance in the search for three missing workers.

A Thai-RDA team consisting of five search and rescue dog handlers, six dogs and seven helpers immediately made its way to the scene of the accident in the Pak Chong district. The search proved to be extremely difficult for the dogs due to the unstable conditions. “The danger of further rockfalls presented a significant risk for our dogs and handlers,” reports search and rescue dog handler Sue Redmond. Nevertheless, her two Golden Retrievers Sahara and Safari coped very well with the situation.

Sahara, who was the first to start the search, picked up a scent at one point in the collapsed tunnel and alerted her handler. The location was marked by the USAR team using GPS, and then Golden Retriever Safari was sent in to check. However, his search had to be called off early due to safety concerns.

Despite the difficult conditions and the short search time, Sahara played a key role in recovering the first victim. With her nose, she confirmed the result of a previous investigation of the collapse site using a thermal imaging camera. 

Three days later, Thai-RDA was called to help again. A team of four search and rescue dog teams and one volunteer rushed to Pak Chong to help find the two remaining victims. Shortly after their arrival, German shepherd mix Bruno began the search. One spot in the collapse zone caught his attention. He indicated to his handler that he had picked up human scent. His alert also matched the image that had previously been captured by a thermal imaging camera. The rescuers immediately began to recover the second victim. They carefully removed masses of soil and rocks and discovered the remaining two victims in the excavated area.

The search and rescue dog operations complied with USAR Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) and were coordinated with other rescue units in both phase I and phase II of the operation. Despite all rescue efforts, all three workers died in the tragic accident. Our sympathy and condolences go out to their families.