Rescue vessels will be out in force in the Whitsundays this weekend. Picture: Supplied.
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North Queensland emergency services will join forces for the ultimate skills test this weekend, with the Whitsundays playing host to the annual Volunteer Marine Rescue Northern Zone joint search and rescue exercise, aka SAREX.
Whitsunday Water Police, SES Airlie Beach, and QAS Cannonvale, are among the groups joining VMR crews from across the region in the three-day event, which kicks off this Friday, May 7.
Along with Townsville Coastguard and RACQ CQ Rescue, they will run through simulated search and rescue scenarios to brush up on their skills in preparation for real-life emergencies.
It would be tough to top this well-written introduction to Gila County Sheriffâs Office Sgt. Dennis Newman. In a July feature announcing a prestigious award, the
Roundupâs own Alexis Bechman lauded, âhe prefers a white cowboy hat to a cape, but Sgt. Dennis Newman is the Rim Countryâs very own superhero . whether he is rappelling out of a helicopter, hiking into Fossil Creek or coordinating weeks-long missions, Newman has handled it all for the Gila County Sheriffâs Office as the search and rescue coordinator.â
Well-known to Payson and Rim Country residents, Newman is positioned to become much more familiar to Globe-Miami and southern Gila County residents, too.
passage area, either, not a particularly big air corridor. there s no land nearby. just to put this into context, western australia, on the west coast of australia where perth is, the capital of western australia, is the most isolated state capital in the world, and it goes for another these objects we re talking about go for another 1,500 miles southwest into the sea from there, basically into nothing. so, the problems are, a, locating it, b, weather is going to play such a critical part in this now, because to get that visual recognition, you need clear visibility. they don t have clear visibility out there. that s what we re being told, visibility is not good. the sea conditions are moderate. so, put those together and we ve still got a mountain to climb. the rescue coordinators were saying at the press conference just a couple of hours ago that don t expect and don t be surprised if we don t find anything today. and when i say today, where i am, we ve probably got another
out of that hole. but we also saw one of the chief rescue coordinators, also saw the two men that have stood stoically by through this rescue effort, who have said on many occasions, tonight we saw them cry. we saw them cry as florencio avalos stepped out of the capsule. this is a combination of 69 days of searching, of rescue, and of helping 33 miners half a mile underground fight against life and death, anderson. kimberly manning also joining us, doctor from emory university. the fact that florencio avalos was able to stand, greet his family, that s certainly a good indication of his health but he was put on a gurney pretty quickly and brought to a field hospital immediately. what can they do there on site?
these two americans operated that drill rig that reached the men early saturday. jack hart was drilling water wells for the u.s. army in afghanistan when he got an urgent call to come to chile. the real hero is the guy that s kept those guys in line and kept them alive for 17 days on very, very little food and they have somehow put it together. reporter: their work is done. now the chilean rescue coordinators have to finish the job. what they, the miners and their families now know is that the entire world is cheering them on. i m jeffrey kofman at the san jose mine in chile. an international investigation has now been launched into the failed rescue of a british aid worker in afghanistan. nato had first blamed a taliban bomb for the death of linda norgrove, but the account changed yesterday. now it appears that u.s. forces