FIREFIGHTERS from East Lancashire have been put on stand-by as part of a British rescue team to go to earthquake-hit Afghanistan.

The specially trained men could be used to search for survivors among the debris left behind by the disaster which claimed about 5,000 lives.

Fire chiefs are now waiting to hear if they can send the men on the mercy mission.

The firefighters would make up a Lancashire team deployed to remote villages devastated by the quake in north east Afghanistan.

They would be part of the larger UK Fire Service Search and Rescue Team set up to help in international disasters.

Assistant Divisional Officer David Swallow, of Lancashire Fire Service, said the UK team would be made up of men from brigades around the country. He said: "We have alerted the Lancashire crew members who would go. We are now waiting for an assessment of the situation to see if a team is needed.

"The crew that would go out are specially trained and experienced in these situations. They have previously been to earthquakes in Armenia and Iran."

He has been in regular contact with the Home Office which is waiting to hear from United Nations officials sent to the disaster zone to assess if help is needed.

The team would take heat seeking equipment and listening devices to find survivors buried beneath the rubble.

They have been trained to survive in harsh living conditions and taught basic first aid.

Villagers are now being evacuated from the region after being left homeless and without proper food

Forty villages were destroyed by the quake measuring 7.1 on the Richter scale.

International rescue efforts have already been hampered by landslides.

Another quake in February in the same area is estimated to have claimed between 1,200 and 4,000 lives.

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