by Jo Sword

Firefighters from Kent are among a 60-strong team travelling to Indonesia to help the rescue effort after the devastating earthquakes.

It has been confirmed 29 of the county's Urban Search and Rescue (USAR) team members are flying from Gatwick today taking specialist equipment with them.

USAR team leader John Mazzey said: "The main thing we will be doing is searching through collapsed buildings, using search equipment such as cameras and listening devices.

"We will be using exactly the same equipment we train with and use in Kent so we are ready and well prepared. One of the team’s biggest requirements is patience to deal with the many obstacles that can arise from such a major, devastating incident like this.

"Obviously there will be voids within these buildings where there is likely to be survivors. We are also taking specialist tools for cutting concrete and drilling through so we can put our cameras into those areas to identify survivors."

Audio: USAR team leader John Mazzey talks to KentOnline's Jo Sword from Gatwick

The first quake struck on Tuesday evening measuring 7.6 on the Richter scale, the second hit on Thursday measuring 6.8.

According to the United Nations, around 1,100 people are dead and more than 2,000 injured - but it is thought those figures will continue to rise.

Rescuers in the Sumatran port town of Padang are searching through mountains of rubble in the bid to find those still alive.

However, they are being hampered by blackouts, blocked roads and a lack of heavy machinery to move debris.

Kent's USAR team is one of 20 set up nationwide as part of the Government's New Dimensions programme, aimed at providing the UK fire and rescue service with the capability to respond to a variety of different incidents, including chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear (CBRN) events, search and rescue scenarios, major flooding and transport incidents.