The dive team of the Belgian Civil Protection celebrated its 50th anniversary at a special reception in Crisnée, Wallonia, on 15 December. The team of specialists take part in an array of operations including rescues, body recovery, and crime scene investigation.
At the event, the Civil Protection unit highlighted some of its accomplishments over the last 14 years of its existence. In total, the dive team took part in around 60 interventions each year. Since 2008, the team has taken part in 930 missions, searched 2,794 locations across the country, and conducted 54,801 hours of work.
Credit: Credit: FPS Interior
The team is composed of four professional divers based in Crisnée, Wallonia, under the command of Sergeant Claude Charon along with 12 volunteer divers. This French-speaking team is joined by seven divers from a Dutch-speaking team in Brasschaat, Flanders. Before reforms in 2019, the Belgian Civil Protection only possessed one team of French-speaking divers.
No fewer than 1,102 vehicles and 102 weapons were fished out of Belgian waters for investigation. The team also recovered 190 corpses.
Belgium’s dive team are highly-trained professionals, who work in some of the darkest waters and most challenging conditions to search for clues that can help solve crimes.
Credit: FPS Interior
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“Determination and professionalism are the DNA of the Civil Protection and each of its pro or volunteer members. I can only be proud of their daily commitment, whether in our specialised missions, our support missions for our partners… like our colleagues at La Défense, in aid missions to the nation,” said Geneviève Van Der Meeren, Director General of DG Civil Security.
A special tribute was also paid to Olivier Rouxhet at the event, who disappeared as part of a search operation for two young girls in 2011.
