Sniffer dogs help trace collapse victims

Three Trained sniffer dogs Tiger, Pitter and Sultan helped the rescue teams from NDRF and TDRF trace the victims trapped in the debris.

Seven-year-old labrador, Tiger, who has trained 96 weeks with the NDRF team, sniffed his way to five-year-old Sona alias Akshita Kori and helped the rescue teams pull her out late on Saturday night, but the girl was declared dead after being rushed to IGM Hospital.

NDRF sniffer dogs at Bhiwandi building collapse site on Sunday (HT PHOTO)

Shashikant Raut, Tiger’s master, said, “We took Tiger to the collapse site and he hovered for nearly 20 minutes around the debris and finally stopped at one spot where he began barking. We suspected that he has found someone and informed commander Deepak Tiwari. Tiwari asked one team to work there and with the help of JCB, we removed the debris and found the dead body of Sona.”

As of now, Tiger has detected three dead bodies and two live people across the building collapse incidents that occurred in Mumbai, Bhiwandi, Nagpada, said NDRF officials.

Tiger is vegetarian and eats rice and milk. He has been undergoing training since he was two months old and plays a vital role in “pancake collapses” when rescue teams have to work fast and efficiently within 24 hours of the collapse. NDRF officials said the chances of survival of victims after 24 hours seem bleak.

Another four and half year old male sniffer dog Pitter, who has trained for 56 weeks with NDRF teams, has also been deployed on the spot. Krishna Hingre, Pitter’s master, said, “Pitter has also trained with us from the age of two months. He was sniffing on another side of building collapse.”