Catalonia sends rescue teams to Venezuela after deadly earthquakes

The Catalan government will send 15 firefighters specialising in collapsed-structure rescues to Venezuela on Friday after the South American country was struck by two powerful earthquakes measuring 7.2 and 7.5 overnight between Wednesday and Thursday.

Catalan President Salvador Illa announced the deployment during an event in Barcelona on the EU's Next Generation recovery funds, where he reiterated the solidarity of both the Catalan government and Catalan society with the Venezuelan people.

Illa also said Catalonia had offered Venezuela a second team of 10 forensic specialists trained in victim identification to assist emergency operations amid the rubble left by the earthquakes.

The team will help in the search and rescue tasks and carry out tasks of assessing the structures collapsed by the earthquake.

The head of the mission, Oriol Corbella, explained to the media that they will focus on "analyzing the structures to see if they are safe to carry out maneuvers."

They will also search for "vital spaces" where people could still be found alive.

The firefighters will be working under the orders of the European Civil Protection Mechanism, and on Thursday went to get vaccinated before the trip.

The vaccines also take into account "how medicine can evolve depending on the earthquake," medical experts points out, with the possible appearance of epidemics or other situations that would not appear under normal conditions.

The group do not yet know in which area of ​​the Latin American country they will operate, nor how many days they will be there, but they are bringing water, food and tools to carry out their work in order to be "fully autonomous for 10 days."

According to the latest official update released by the Venezuelan government at 7 pm local time on Thursday, the twin earthquakes have killed 235 people and injured 4,300 others. The death toll is expected to rise. 

Spain's Foreign Ministry has confirmed the deaths of two Spanish citizens, while 90 Spanish nationals remain unaccounted for, according to an update on Friday morning.

Humanitarian Aid

The rescue deployment forms part of a broader response by Catalan institutions and the Venezuelan community in Catalonia.

Around 15 Venezuelan community organisations in Barcelona have joined forces to collect humanitarian aid for people affected.

José Luis Acuña, president of the Catalan-Venezuelan association Asocaven, told the Catalan News Agency (ACN) that the groups met on Thursday at the Ateneu El Poblet community centre to establish a coordination team to organise the collection of essential supplies.

The organisers plan to open collection points across Catalonia and, in cooperation with the Venezuelan consulate in Barcelona and the embassy in Spain, deliver the aid to the worst-affected areas.

Acuña also welcomed the support offered by Barcelona City Council and the Catalan government to the Venezuelan community in Catalonia.

Barcelona City Council has announced a €300,000 emergency aid package to support relief efforts following the earthquakes in Venezuela.

The funding will be channelled through NGOs based in Barcelona that have an operational presence in Venezuela. The council said the grants would be processed "as quickly as possible" and tailored to the needs identified by local authorities.

Barcelona City Council observed a minute's silence before Friday's plenary session and expressed its "full support and solidarity" with the people of Venezuela.

According to the Catalan Statistics Institute (Idescat), more than 49,000 Venezuelans live in Catalonia.