Firefighters rescue a child amid rubble in an urban disaster

"Every search and rescue mission walks the fracture line between life and death." While conceptualising for the challenge, I was kind of undecided as to whether the image should present a more positive side (mission successful, lives were saved) or negative side (mission unsuccessful, lives were lost). In the end, I decided to present both sides, using the debris of a fallen site to subtly present a line of distinction between hope/life and despair/death. Also added a photograph for the dead man holding on to his wife's photo to add a more emotive touch. I was hoping this would be ranked better than the recent ones, or at least be in the upper half. So to be ranked 17 out of a less competitive field of 56 is a result I am satisfied with.

Entry in the Rescue Mission challenge.