President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (PT) spoke this Thursday (25) with Venezuelan leader Delcy Rodríguez and expressed the Brazilian government’s solidarity with the Venezuelan population who were victims of two earthquakes on Wednesday (24), and promised help to the region.
“We will send, this Friday (26) morning, a humanitarian urban search and rescue mission, on a FAB KC-390 plane, which will leave from Guarulhos Airport, with 36 firefighters from the states of São Paulo, Minas Gerais and Paraná, four technicians from the National Civil Defense and four other technicians from the National Telecommunications Agency. With them will be nine tons of equipment to help in the search and help the victims,” said the president.
In addition to the aid sent on Friday, Lula also informed that Brazil will send another flight on Saturday with equipment to set up a field hospital, one hundred water purifiers with solar panels, medicines and medical supplies for surgeries. “We will continue to monitor the development of relief work for the victims to provide all the necessary support to our Venezuelan brothers,” said the president.
Earthquake in Venezuela
On Wednesday, two earthquakes, of magnitudes 7.2 and 7.5, shook Venezuela. “This earthquake was the second event in a pair. The main earthquake, of magnitude 7.5, was preceded 39 seconds earlier by a precursor earthquake, of magnitude 7.2”, reported the USGS, when updating a previous assessment, which estimated the magnitude of the first tremor at 7.1.
The death toll is found 188, according to the head of Parliament, which reported more than 1,500 injuries. O Itamaraty reported that there are no Brazilians among the dead and injured in the. In a statement, the government also said that it provides assistance to Brazilians who suffered material damage as a result of the tragedy. “Itamaraty’s consular duty remains available to provide assistance to Brazilian citizens in emergency situations,” he said.
