An urban search and rescue team from the Los Angeles County Fire Department will return Thursday from Colombia, where it was sent to assist with recovery efforts from last week’s deadly earthquake.
The department’s USA-02 urban search and rescue team was deployed last Wednesday by the U.S. State Department. The team consists of seven experts from the county fire department and three structural specialists from the county Department of Public Works.
In Colombia, they partnered with a 10-member search and rescue team from Fairfax County, Virginia.
The mission supported USAR coordination, communications, heavy rigging and delayering operations and structural engineering assessments, the county fire department stated.
Colombia was struck with a magnitude-7.4 earthquake on Aug. 10, with hundreds killed and thousands trapped in the rubble of collapsed structures. It was the largest earthquake ever recorded in the country.
The fire department also sent a team to Venezuela on June 25 to assist in search operations following a pair of earthquakes that obliterated portions of that country’s central region.
” As the mission concludes, the LACoFD remains deeply inspired by the strength and resilience of the Colombian people,” according to a department statement. “The LACoFD is grateful to have contributed to this vital U.S. State Department response and continues to stand in solidarity and prayer with all impacted communities as long-term recovery efforts move forward.”