“3,000 international rescuers in Venezuela: 12 people saved alive in six days”

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Macuto (Venezuela).- The deployment of 3,000 international rescuers currently in Venezuela has made it possible to save 12 people alive over the last six days of operations, who were trapped under the rubble following the double earthquake of magnitude 7.2 and 7.5 last Wednesday, the United Nations Disaster Assessment and Coordination (UNDAC) team confirmed to EFE today.

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“It is a very strong international response to the request for assistance made by Venezuela,” explained the Chilean Sebastián Mocarquer, part of UNDAC, from the town of Macuto, in the state of La Guaira, the one most affected by the earthquakes.

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Faced with this large number of rescuers, Mocarquer pointed out that the work of UNDAC is to offer its organizational and evaluation structures in order to strengthen response capacity.

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“When you receive 53 search and rescue teams, 3,000 people, it requires a methodology, an information management system that has to be tested, that has to work quickly,” he added.

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Rescuers in Venezuela

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The firefighter indicated that it is usual for these rescue teams to have a work window of between 5 to 10 days, which coincides with the opportunity for rescuing people alive in a disaster like the one that occurred in Venezuela.

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However, he added that a person can survive inside a collapsed structure, depending on the type of collapse or the weather.

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In La Guaira, particularly, temperatures can reach 34 degrees Celsius with 80% humidity, which implies “very adverse conditions,” explained Mocarquer.

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In addition to the 12 rescued, a group of 100 rescuers continues working in the Catia La Mar sector to save Hernán Gil, a security guard who was trapped in the guard booth where he worked after the double earthquake and who remains alive and in communication with the rescue team.

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Transition

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Mocarquer pointed out that there are still days left to continue working in Venezuela, but this time is finite. Rescue teams will be returning to their countries and there will be a transition to begin recovering the remains of the deceased, which the Venezuelan authorities are in charge of, due to equipment, legal, and forensic issues.

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“These are operations that can take a very long time, which will far exceed the capacity of international objectives to operate in the country,” he stressed.

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In its latest report, the Venezuelan Executive indicated that some 6,461 people have been rescued and at least 2,295 have died, while 11,267 were injured.

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The Dutch urban search and rescue team announced this Wednesday that it is concluding its mission in Venezuela as the chances of finding people alive have diminished.

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According to Mocarquer, most rescue groups do not announce their departure from the countries where they work to avoid the distress of relatives waiting for good news about their trapped loved ones.

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