After a mission of mercy in earthquake-ravaged Venezuela, members of the Los Angeles County Fire Department’s international Urban Search and Rescue team will be welcomed home Monday.
The team was deployed to Venezuela on June 25 to assist in search operations following back-to-back earthquakes that devastated the country’s central region.
According to the LACoFD, crews deployed to the South American nation joined with other teams and “to provide search, rescue, and recovery assistance to the Venezuelan people.”
County Fire Chief Anthony Marrone, County Supervisor Lindsey Horvath and Robb Chapman, technical operations adviser for the U.S. Department of State, are among those expected to be on hand to welcome the team home to the LACoFD’s Technical Operations Section in Pacoima.
“These international USAR teams were essential and instrumental partners in delivering lifesaving rescues and aid to the hardest-hit communities,” according to a fire department statement. “Throughout their activation, USA-1, USA-2, USA-10, and USA-11 members affected rescues, performed wide-area assessments, and evaluated countless buildings for safety. As USA-2’s mission ends, the LACoFD remains inspired by the compassion and resiliency of the Venezuelan people and thankful to have been a part of this U.S. Department of State response. We stand alongside all impacted residents and communities and pray for strength as recovery efforts continue.”
More than 3,300 people were killed and around five times as many were injured as a result of the earthquakes, one a magnitude 7.2 foreshock and a magnitude 7.5 main shock that struck just seconds later, collapsed building and killing or trapping thousands.
Tens of thousands of people remain missing, according to news reports.
The rescuers from Los Angeles County were part of an international contingent of several thousand deployed to Venezuela following the catastrophe.