Earthquake expert speaks of heart-breaking search for survivors in Nepal

Mark Scorer, 33, who is a geotechnical engineer for Epsom-based company Atkins and lives in nearby Wheelers Lane, flew out to Kathmandu on Sunday, April 26.

Last week: "It’s emotional" - Expert in earthquakes flies out to help search and rescue in Nepal 

After his return to the UK on Sunday night, Mr Scorer described their efforts to clear sites, assess collapsed buildings and search rubble piles using sniffer dogs and telescopic cameras.

He said: "You try and focus on the task in hand, but when you are searching through the rubble and coming across clothes and shoes, it can be quite difficult.

"You are focused on what you need to do and what you are looking for and any signs of life. It’s a case of doing what you can."

Unfortunately, Mr Scorer said they did not find anyone still alive under the rubble. He said: "It’s not the norm. Very few people are rescued and pulled out after the immediate aftermath.

"We were able to clear a number of buildings so that gave assurances to families that we had been there and they could move back in."

Mr Scorer has been part of the team at Search and Rescue Assistance in Disasters (SARAID) for two years and has given up a weekend every month to train with them.

He has worked at Atkins for eight years, but also has experience the seismic sector and has a master’s degree in soil mechanics and engineering seismology. Seismology is the study of earthquakes and related phenomena.

Mr Scorer said the team camped near Kathmandu airport and managed to clear and search up to 10 structures including residential flats with shops at the lower level.

He said: "We were called to a couple of schools, but thankfully because the earthquake was at the weekend, there were not likely to be children in school which was a relief."

Although the international response was inevitably "quite difficult", he said on the whole the UN dealt with the situation well.

He said "It’s a big disaster area and coordinating a response with limited connections in terms of internet and phone signal was always going to be challenging."

Far-flung villages can only be reached by helicopter, and he said: "We will find out more about these outlying areas in coming weeks."

The death toll has now risen above 7,500 and humanitarian organisations are providing food, shelter and help for earthquake victims.

He said: "We understood the bigger picture and there are humanitarian aid agencies that need the space.

"Once the rescue phase came to an end, although we felt like we could do more, we didn’t want to become part of the problem."

The self-sufficient team went out with enough food, water, medicine and supplies for the stint, but they did not want to become a drain on resources after that.

He said: "It’s an opportunity to try and help that everybody who is part of the charity wanted to do. It’s why you do the training and put in the effort to be able to help."

He described Nepalese people they encountered as "amazingly resilient", adding: "It was humbling to see how they dealt with that situation. They didn’t feel sorry for themselves, they picked themselves up."

Mr Scorer during training with the charity

Despite criticism of the way the Nepalese authorities have handled the crisis, Mr Scorer said his team were welcomed to the country and their visas were waived.

Mr Scorer's colleagues organised a cake sale at Atkins yesterday and managed to raise more than £1,000 for SARAID.

Neil Thomas, managing director for Atkins’ water and environment division, said: "Mark’s commitment to the cause shows he cares about the world we live in and understands how his engineering skills can make a difference to people’s lives.

"We encourage our people to volunteer to support good causes and when Mark approached us to travel to Nepal to put to use the training he’s undertaken with SARAID, we had no hesitation in accepting his request."

To donate to SARAID visit http://campaign.justgiving.com/charity/SARAID/NepalEarthquake