TMG Evac Team

Today's tasks for the team were six evacuations and three proof of life visits. The evacs were for five elderly people in Bakhmut and one young male in Soladar.

We collected one elderly gentleman and two ladies from a house in central Bakhmut. The house had no heat, gas, electricity, water, or food supplies. Medications were running low so the people requested to be evacuated. Our team crossed over to the west side of Bakhmut which has been cut off due to the main bridge being destroyed. Some locals still try to cross on foot using wooden planks that were laid to make a path but these are nearly under water already. It is too unsteady and dangerous for the  elderly or disabled.

Our team evacuated an elderly couple and their belongings. As we returned to the East side we were met by a group from the Pentecost Church in Kyiv. They were trying to deliver humanitarian assistance (HA) supplies to a location on the East of Bakhmut but their vehicles were unable to make the crossing. Our team loaded the HA supplies into our vehicle along with one of their group and safely delivered them across to the east side.

The team then had three proof of life visits to complete in the Bakhmut district. These requests come in from family members or loved ones, sometimes even from neighbors who have left the area. They ask us to visit them and see if they are still alive and well and offer to evacuate them. There is no phone coverage in these areas so the people who chose to not evacuate have lost contact with relatives and loved ones. People that do not evacuate often have phone coverage and no power to charge phones which leaves them isolated. When we visit and make contact we pass on messages from family and if those people stay in the area we pass on what ever info or messages back to the love ones. This gives them some peace of mind to know at least for now they are still alive.