Rescue South Africa (RSA) is an official South African Disaster Response Team made up of volunteer emergency response specialists from the South African public and private sector emergency and ancillary services.

Our multi-disciplinary taskforces include specialist rescuers, trauma doctors, paramedics, K9 search dog units, civil engineers, chemical and safety specialists.

Rescue South Africa forms part of the United Nations International Search and Rescue Advisory Group (INSARAG) operated under the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Aid (OCHA) and hosted the INSARAG World Team Leaders' Meeting in South Africa in 2002.

We are also formally recognised in terms of the South African Disaster Management Act, 2002, and are the official Urban Search and Rescue (USAR) Taskforce to Gauteng Provincial Local Government.

We have completed rescue missions to:

• Turkey (1999 earthquake)
• Mozambique (2000 floods)
• India (2001 earthquake)
• Democratic Republic of Congo (2001 volcanic eruption)
• Algeria (2003 earthquake)
• Iran (2003 earthquake)
• Pakistan (2005 earthquake)

We have also conducted several training courses and provided disaster, emergency and medical support at some of South Africa’s large-scale events.

• missions
• capabilities
• work