Search and rescue (SAR) is the search for and provision of aid to people who are in distress or imminent danger.
The general field of search and rescue includes many specialty sub-fields, mostly based upon terrain considerations. These include Mountain rescue; ground search and rescue, including the use of search and rescue dogs; urban search and rescue in cities; combat search and rescue on the battlefield and air-sea rescue over water.
There are many different definitions of search and rescue, depending on the agency involved.
One of the world's earliest well documented SAR efforts ensued following the 1656 wreck of the Dutch merchant ship Vergulde Draeck off the west coast of Australia. Survivors sent for help, and in response three separate SAR missions were conducted, without success.
In 1983, Korean Air Lines Flight 007 with 269 occupants was shot down by a Soviet aircraft near Sakhalin. The Soviets sent SAR helicopters and boats to Soviet waters, while a search and rescue operation was initiated by U.S., South Korean, and Japanese ships and aircraft in international waters, but no survivors were found.