On April 25, 2015, just before 12 p.m. local time, Nepal was struck by a massive earthquake. The quake measured 7.8 on the Richter scale and caused a tremendous amount of damage, including collapsed buildings. Rescuers from across the globe rushed to Nepal in order to help.
The collapsed buildings posed many challenges for rescuers. Among those who went to Nepal to help was a volunteer rescue team from China. As the team was preparing to leave, one of Olympus’ distributors for remote visual inspection products in China loaned the team an IPLEX® MX II videoscope . The team brought the videoscope with them to Nepal where they hoped that it would be useful.
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| Earthquake damage in Kathmandu, Nepal. |
When the rescue team arrived in Nepal, they immediately got to work. Many of the buildings had collapsed, creating a maze of difficult-to-reach cavities where potential survivors could be waiting for rescue. Moving the rubble was difficult as well as dangerous. The blocks of concrete weighed a lot, and it was tough to get heavy equipment into the area. In addition, moving the rubble could potentially cause cave-ins in some of the spaces, harming trapped victims. The videoscope, however, enabled the rescuers to search for survivors in these spaces without having to move large amounts of rubble.
The IPLEX MX II videoscope is small, but also tough. The rescue team was able to easily carry it into the rubble. The scope itself is only 6 mm in diameter, so the team could easily slip it into small cracks and crevices to look for trapped people. The bright LED illumination helped light up cavities so the rescuers could more easily spot survivors.
On April 28, the team was using the videoscope to inspect the rubble when they located a 7-year-old girl trapped under the debris. Once the team knew her position, they were able to clear a path in the rubble, rescue the victim, and get her to safety.
This story goes to show that while we often focus on the industrial uses of Olympus products, they can also have many other applications, like the role our inspection products play in helping to ensure the safety of the public.
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