The 52-strong New Zealand Fire Service Urban Search and Rescue (USAR) contingent arrived at Auckland Airport this morning after spending the past seven days in bitterly cold conditions searching for survivors in the Minamisanriku area, about 200km north of Tokyo.
Many had not had a break since the devastating Christchurch earthquake on February 22, so were glad to be home for a much-needed rest.
USAR worker Richard Twomey said working in Japan had been a surreal experience which was difficult to describe in words.
"If you took Christchurch and multiplied it by 100 you'd be getting close.
"To come down the valley to the scene, from the distance it just looked like sticks. When you did get to the beach it was just nothing: 500 houses were just gone. So yeah, devastation on a massive scale."
Mr Twomey said the language barrier had made work difficult, as had the destroyed infrastructure and icy temperatures which reached minus 17C.
The New Zealanders were there in a rescue capacity but had found no survivors amid the devastation, Mr Twomey said.
They were sent home after it was decided there was little chance of finding people in the area alive.
