26 December 2003, at 01:57 hrs GMT (05:27 hrs local time), an earthquake of magnitude 6.7 struck the city of Bam, Kerman Province in southeastern Iran. The number of casualties and overall affected is expected to be high due to most houses being built with mud. The media report that the earthquake may have killed at least 4,000 people in the city of Bam, whose population is 80,000. It is also reported that the earthquake destroyed 60 percent of the houses in the city of Bam and the medieval fortress, a massive, 2,000-year-old structure that sits on a cliff near the city and attracts thousands of tourists each year.

26/12/03 - An UKFSSART team comprising of personnel from Kent, Hampshire and Essex have left the UK tonight on a specially chartered flight to Iran. They are part of a larger UK Search & Rescue Team led by the Department for International Development and comprising of teams from Rapid UK, Canis, BIRD and the International Rescue Corps.

The UKFSSART team is led by Simon Webb from the ODPM and Peter Crook (Hampshire Fire & Rescue Service). The team are well equipped for both search and rescue tasks, equipment includes sophisticated listening equipment, miniature cameras, drills, cutting equipment, electrical generators and emergency shoring equipment that can be used to support damaged structures. The team also includes two experienced trauma-specialist doctors and limited medical supplies.

27/12/03 - Reports from the United Nations indicate that, as well as the team from the UK, search and rescue teams from Turkey, Russia, Germany, Switzerland, France, Denmark, South Africa, China, Poland, Finland, Austria, Italy and Belgium are heading for south-eastern Iran. The death toll continues to rise, some reports estimate that up to 20,000 may of died.

The UK SAR Team arrived at Kerman at 0350 UTC, and 22 members have already been transported to Bam by Iranian AF IL76. The remainder are expected to travel to Bam by IAF C130 shortly. The UK Search & Rescue Team comprises 67 members from UKFSSART, RAPID, BIRD, IRC and CANIS. As well as the usual specialist search equipment, they have with them 4 search dogs.

Further SAR teams are reported to be joining in the rescue effort. Teams from the USA, Korea, Norway and Japan are en-route to the disaster area.

28/12/03 - A situation report received overnight from the team indicates that a small party were flown down to Bam shortly after arrival at Kerman. The remainder of the team were to follow in another plane. However, the plane did not materialize and they have spent the day traveling to Bam by bus. They arrived outside the city, which is in chaos and totally congested, during the night. It is highly unlikely that they will be able to get to work until Sunday morning. The small party that flew down earlier have managed to carry out a recce of the city by air and have contacted people on the ground.

A further report from Simon Webb received in the early morning confirms that all team members are fit and well. The city of Bam has been sectorised and the UK Team are working in their designated sector.

29/12/03 - A report from James Brown (DFID) confirms that most of the UK team are now operating from the Army base in Bam. Rapid UK are based at a stadium about 3 kms away. During the morning the team, following consultation with the authorities in the area, will start to scale down their search and rescue efforts.

30/12/03 - The UK team have completed their search & rescue operations and have withdrawn from the city of Bam. With the assistance of the UNDAC team, transport arrangements are being made in order that the team can return to the UK.

The death toll continues to rise, reports indicate that 28,000 bodies have already been found and some authorities estimate that up to 50,000 may of died. The severity of the earthquake, the time of day it occurred and the type of construction prevalent in the city are some of the reasons behind the high death rate and the small number of survivors that required rescue.

31/12/03 - The UKFSSART team arrived back at Stanstead Airport at 22.30 on the 30th December. All team members are safe and well and have returned to their respective brigades. A report of the team's activities will appear on the web site once debriefs have been undertaken.