Fire and Rescue NSW (FRNSW), Police and Ambulance rescue teams are continuing pain-staking efforts to clear debris from the scene of the explosion and townhouse collapse at Whalan in Sydney’s west. The first responders are trying to determine whether anyone remains trapped under the ruins of the collapsed two-story building. A woman remains unaccounted for.
Dozens of FRNSW Urban Search and Rescue (USAR) technicians, including firefighters who responded to last year’s earthquake disaster in Turkiye, have been rotated through the scene since the blast and collapse that occurred in Waikanda Crescent just before 1pm on June 1, 2024.
Search cameras deployed to look for survivors
They are using search cameras to peer under the rubble and concrete slabs
They are using search cameras to peer under the rubble and concrete slabs, looking for possible survivors.
Firefighters have deployed acoustic monitoring devices in a bid to capture any sounds under the ruins and Police have run a detection dog over the debris, without any indications of human activity.
Joint agency rescue experts
The joint agency rescue experts are using jackhammers, chainsaws and other equipment to break up the rubble which is being loaded onto trucks by hand and removed from the scene.
The process is slow and meticulous in the interest of safety at the site. FRNSW has also been dealing with a number of small spot fires under sections of the rubble. The five people evacuated from the scene yesterday, including two women rescued by FRNSW, have been released from hospital with minor injuries.
FRNSW Commissioner inspects rescue efforts
FRNSW Commissioner, Jeremy Fewtrell, returned to the scene to inspect rescue efforts.
“The bottom line is there’s been the total destruction of a large building and it’s the job of the rescuers to work their way through that rubble to try to find spaces in that collapsed area where someone might have been caught,” said Commissioner Jeremy Fewtrell.
He adds, “The operators who work in this field have a range of different skillsets, from their firefighting experience, their hazardous materials experience or from a specialist operations paramedic perspective as well. Those rescuers combing that area have an understanding of the natures of structural collapse, the different ways that buildings fall under stress, and it gives them an indication of the types of places to look for survivors.”
Rescue efforts ongoing
“This is still within the window for someone to survive,” the Commissioner explained, “You might recall in 1997, we had the Thredbo landslide, it was almost a week when Stuart Diver was rescued, hence the effort to really be exploring the building as thoroughly as we can.”
Once the Search and Rescue operation ends, authorities will step up efforts to forensically determine the cause of the incident.
