Yad L'Achim volunteers plan and carry out often dangerous rescue operations and bring these women and their children to safety.

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They did so in the conviction that this extraordinary technology can and must be brought to bear so that untold thousands of their countrymen can perform dangerous combat, search and rescue, special operations and other missions in the future in greater safety and with greater likelihood of success than with helicopter alternatives.

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Though such work -- swift-water rescue -- can be extremely dangerous, "you don't think about it much until afterward, " she said, noting that she focused Wednesday on staying away from live wires and "widow makers" -- overhangs that could collapse at any time, killing anyone below.

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Current applications for Superbot are being developed with space exploration in mind, but Shen said the technology could be usefully applied in any environment dangerous to humans such as for search and rescue tasks in mines or underwater -- although the laboratory is still working on a morphing robot capable of swimming.

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After-shocks, some severe, continued to affect the area, making the rescue workers' task harder and more dangerous.

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The 29-year-old, of The Royal Highland Fusiliers, commanded an infantry platoon in an extremely dangerous area, and charged an enemy ambush twice to rescue an injured soldier.

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Dave Graham, Weymouth and Portland district commander for Dorset Fire and Rescue, said: "All fire is extremely dangerous, and arson even more so as it can harm not only the individual setting the fire but also those community minded individuals who may try to extinguish it, plus of course our fire crews".

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There was similar elation among the search-and-rescue team, which included dozens of volunteer sheriff deputies who surveyed the dangerous terrain looking for signs of life.

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