Armenia: Return to a Town that Died
Thirty years on from the 1988 earthquake in Armenia, what\u2019s happened to the devastated town of Spitak? Rescuers from all over the world came to help search for survivors \u2013 among them a team of British firefighters. Now, with reporter Tim Whewell, two of those men are returning - to see how the town\u2019s been rebuilt - and to remember a rescue effort that marked a turning point in East-West relations. The disaster came as Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev was developing his policy of glasnost (openness) \u2013 and his request for foreign assistance was the first such appeal the Kremlin had made in decades. The firefighters relive the drama, grief and courage of those days \u2013 and renew old friendships. They discover that Spitak has still not fully recovered from the quake, with many living to this day in squalid temporary housing. Reporter Tim Whewell.
(Image: Reginald Berry and Paul Burns \u2013 two retired UK firefighters \u2013 revisit Armenia, 30 years after taking part in rescue and recovery efforts after the 1988 earthquake. Credit: BBC/Hakob Hovhannisyan)