Amidst the rubble of a collapsed high-rise building in Thailand, a B.C. man and his dog searched for missing victims.
Andy Krzus, owner of Obedience Unleashed Dog Training in Mission, joined the Burnaby Urban Search and Rescue (BUSAR) team and his dog Pele in a deployment to Bangkok after a devastating earthquake on March 28 with its epicentre in Myanmar.
During the one-week deployment in April, Krzus served as handler for his dog, Pele. They worked with local authorities and Thailand’s Search Dog group to locate missing individuals at a complex and hazardous rescue site, where BUSAR says approximately 79 people were unaccounted for at the time of the search.
According to a social media post from BUSAR, Pele made multiple identifications throughout her deployment, playing a critical role in helping bring closure to families waiting for answers. A video in the post shows Pele locating a buried victim in a challenging section of collapsed concrete and twisted steel.
Pele is a highly-trained human remains detection dog and was instrumental in identifying potential victim locations buried deep beneath the rubble, BUSAR says.
“After Pele makes an identification, BUSAR team members move in with cameras and breaching equipment to investigate and begin careful access. The terrain is unstable and physically demanding, but the teamwork between the K-9 and search teams is seamless,” the post reads.
BUSAR conducted systematic ground searches in coordination with the Thailand Urban Search and Rescue team and other local agencies, including the military, fire department, forensics, and drone units.
“Upon learning of the disaster, we reached out to Thai officials and were given the opportunity to join local emergency services on the ground in their efforts to search for survivors,” BUSAR said.
In addition to highly trained search dogs like Pele, BUSAR brought specialized equipment, including search cameras and concrete breaching tools, to the effort.
BUSAR praised the scale and coordination of the Thai-led response and the care provided to search dog units.
“What’s been especially incredible is the care and respect shown to the working dogs by our hosts. Thai authorities have set up a dedicated K-9 base just across from the collapse site, with volunteer veterinarians inspecting the dogs before and after every shift, air-conditioned rest areas, and everything the K-9s need to stay healthy and safe in these extreme conditions,” the post reads.
“The Thai K-9 team has been highly professional, skilled, and welcoming—sharing knowledge, training together, and working shoulder to shoulder with our team. It’s been an honour to learn from them and operate as partners in this difficult mission.”
Bangkok Metropolitan Administration announced the end of search operations at the collapsed skyscraper site on Tuesday (May 13).
