April 25, 2021 - Search and rescue dogs were deployed after the 29 December earthquake in Petrinja, and 18 dogs of the HGSS mountain rescue service helped locate six people under the rubble, the Ministry of the Interior Civil Protection Directorate said on International Search and Rescue Dog Day, April 25.

The International Search and Rescue Dog Organisation in 2008 declared the International Search and Rescue Dog Day, which has been observed every year on the last Sunday in April.

A dog used in search and rescue operations replaces up to 30 people who would be needed to search an area in the same period, the ministry said.

It recalled that on 26 November 2019, when a 6.4 magnitude earthquake hit Albania, Croatia sent to that country a search and rescue team with 15 members of the Civil Protection Directorate and eight search and rescue dogs.

A dog's sense of smell is 10,000 times better than that of a man, and they hear and see better than humans. These traits make dogs man's best friends and well co-workers in crises. Search and rescue teams, consisting of a dog and its handler, are exceptionally important in civil protection forces and are indispensable in rescue operations.

Search, and rescue teams save people's lives in urban areas when earthquakes, explosions, and large-scale disasters happen.

Search and rescue dogs easily locate the place where a person is trapped, regardless of the distance and obstacles between them and the victim. They can search 1,000 square meters of rubble in only 20 minutes, the Civil Protection Directorate said.

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