A U.S. rescue team arrived at the Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) on Saturday, ending its mission to earthquake- and tsunami-ravaged Japan.
The 74 members of the California Task Force 2 heavy rescue team returned after six days in Japan assisting in the rescue efforts in the aftermath of the March 11 9.0-magnitude earthquake and tsunami.
During its mission, the task force were unable to find any live earthquake or tsunami victims but did recover some bodies, CNN reported.
"The team spent six days in Japan searching for victims in the Ofunato and Kamaishi City areas and has completed its mission," said Los Angeles County Fire Department (LACFD) Chief Daryl L. Osby.
The team mostly comprised members from the LACFD.
"We've done some recovery, and at this point, the government of Japan has determined that they don't have anymore missions," LACFD Capt. John Lenhian told CNN. "The government of Japan has a lot of resources on the ground, and we were able to assist them."
"Certainly, we wanted to be there to rescue survivors -- just like in New Zealand, the opportunity for people to survive was just not in the cards," Lenhian said.
"The debris field there was not spread out like it is in Japan where they had this one-two punch of the earthquake and then the tsunami," he said. "They have hundreds and hundreds of miles of debris field caused by the tsunami in Japan."
The task force was also sent to Christchurch, New Zealand on Feb. 22 to search for survivors in collapsed structures.
L.A. county fire Capt. Bryan Wells said part of their mission in Japan was just to "reunite the families."
"If we can help out the families to reunite the families with the loved ones that have passed away due to the disaster, that gives the guys a great sense of success, if they can help to reunite the families," he said.
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