SP firefighters end rescue mission in Venezuela after earthquake and begin return to Brazil

Firefighters from SP arrive in Venezuela on a mission to help earthquake victims
The São Paulo fire team ended, this Thursday (9), the operational activities of the humanitarian mission carried out in Venezuela after the earthquake that hit the country. The tremors officially killed more than 3,889 people.
With the end of search and rescue operations, the members of the task force begin the demobilization process and are scheduled to return to Brazil this Friday (10).
The mission brought together experts in search, rescue and disaster response from the states of São Paulo, Minas Gerais and Paraná, who worked together with Venezuelan authorities and international teams.
According to the São Paulo Military Police Fire Department, the São Paulo military participated in operations uninterrupted in areas of collapsed structures. Throughout the mission, 90 operational interventions were carried out, which resulted in the location and removal of 23 bodies from the rubble (11 men, nine women and three people whose sex could not be identified).
The actions followed international disaster response protocols and included the use of specialized equipment, search technology and dogs trained to locate victims.
São Paulo's participation took place in two stages. The first team embarked for Venezuela on June 26, made up of 11 military firefighters, two doctors, a Civil Defense representative, search dogs Malina and Kiara and around five tons of equipment.
Firefighters from São Paulo went to Venezuela at the end of June to help in the search for victims of the earthquake.
Disclosure/SP Firefighters
Two days later, on June 28, a second team was sent to the country, composed of by 16 military firefighters, a Civil Defense representative and approximately four tons of equipment, expanding the operational capacity of the Brazilian task force.
The return of the teams begins this Friday (10). The Brazilian Air Force's KC-30 aircraft is expected to arrive in Caracas at 6 am to board the equipment used in the mission. Takeoff is scheduled between 12pm and 1pm, with a stopover in Brasília.
The members from São Paulo and Paraná will proceed to the São Paulo Air Base, in Guarulhos, with arrival scheduled for 10pm. The team from Minas Gerais will return to Brazil in its own aircraft.
In a statement, the Fire Department of the Military Police of the State of São Paulo stated that the operation in Venezuela reinforces the corporation's commitment to international humanitarian cooperation, making its experience and operational capacity available in disaster response missions when requested.
New phase of aid
The Brazilian government is preparing a new phase of humanitarian aid to Venezuela, following the earthquakes that two weeks ago killed at least 3,889 people and destroyed the Caribbean nation.
On Thursday (9), President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (PT) met for more than two hours with ministers and advisors to take stock of the actions already carried out in Venezuela and to evaluate what is possible to do in a new stage of reconstruction of the Venezuelan country.
According to interlocutors, the meeting was not conclusive. The assessment by Lula's team is that the new action must be even more coordinated with the needs of Venezuela.
The number of deaths in Venezuela rises to 3.8 thousand
The meeting was attended by Chancellor Mauro Vieira (Foreign Affairs), the special advisor to the Presidency, Celso Amorim, ministers Miriam Belchior (Civil House) and Fernanda Machiaveli (Agrarian Development and Family Farming) and the commander of Air Force, lieutenant-brigadier Marcelo Damasceno.
Operations in Venezuela are coordinated by the Civil House.
The Brazilian government is currently awaiting more information from the Venezuelan side with an indication of what they most need help with in order to define its new operation plan in the country in the coming days.
➡ At the end of June, two earthquakes in a row hit the northern region of the country, where Caracas is located. In addition to the deaths, the tremors collapsed buildings and left a trail of destruction in the Venezuelan capital and surrounding areas. The earthquakes were the strongest in the country in more than 100 years.
The number of deaths as a result of the earthquakes rose to at least 3,889, while the number of injured remained at almost 17 thousand, according to an official government bulletin released this Thursday (9). Gol);
60 tons of supplies, equipment and medical inputs
100 water purifiers;
Field hospital with up to 30 beds, surgical and emergency care capacity, children's module and preparedness for pandemics;
93 Navy personnel to operate the field hospital;
71 military firefighters;
4 Civil Defense specialists;
6 technicians from Anatel.
One of Venezuela's main tourist destinations becomes the center of the country's biggest tragedy in decades
Jornal Nacional/ Reproduction
Aid to Cuba
The Brazilian government also plans to intensify the humanitarian aid it has already sent to Cuba. The Caribbean country suffers from restrictions and blockades by the United States.
At the meeting on Thursday, Lula and his team also addressed the issue.
There is concern within the Brazilian government that the situation in Cuba is becoming an increasingly greater humanitarian problem. And, according to reports received, hunger in the country has increased, especially among children.
Now, the Brazilian government is studying how to help Cuba effectively since the country is, for example, without energy. On Monday (6), a new widespread power cut, the third in the last six months, affected Cuba.
Brazil's humanitarian cooperation actions are coordinated by the Brazilian Cooperation Agency, in contact with several ministries, which make donations possible.
American President Donald Trump told journalists at the White House that he believes he will have the "honor" of taking Cuba.
Cuba's current suffocation is also directly linked to the policy adopted by Donald Trump's government, which intensified economic sanctions against the island.

Source: G1