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Firefighters head to Nepal

A team of firefighters from B.C.'s Lower Mainland is joining an effort to find survivors of the worst earthquake to hit Nepal in more than 80 years.

Twenty officials from Mission and Burnaby are going on a six-day expedition with the disaster relief organization, Canadian Medical Assistance Teams.

Capt. Norm MacLeod of Mission Fire Rescue says three firefighters are bringing along sniffer dogs to look for people trapped under rubble and debris.

MacLeod says crews will do the best they can to help victims of the tragedy, and hopes lives can be saved during their short trip.

The effort is being led by retired Burnaby fire captain Marc Pullen, who helped to find survivors during the Haiti earthquake in 2010.

The death toll from the magnitude 7.8 earthquake that struck Nepal on Saturday has so far left more than 3,700 people dead.



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