Firefighters who worked in the RS floods reinforce searches in Venezuela after earthquake

Firefighters who worked in the RS floods reinforce searches in Venezuela after earthquake A group of three volunteer firefighters from Rio Grande do Sul traveled to Venezuela to help in the search for victims of the earthquakes that hit the country on the night of June 24th. The Gauchos work in the health sector and participated in rescue work during the floods that hit the state in May 2024. On the mission, the Brazilian trio is accompanied by a Paraguayan firefighter. They will join teams operating in northern Venezuela, the region where the capital Caracas is located. In addition to leaving thousands dead and injured, the tremors caused the collapse of buildings and houses in the region. ? Access the g1 RS channel on WhatsApp "Our aim is to join forces, if God blesses us, we can find people who are still alive. And also find people who are without life, but bring encouragement to their families", says Anderson Jociel, president of Voluntersul and coordinator of the Gaucho mission. The group boarded a commercial flight at Salgado Filho Airport, in Porto Alegre, in the early hours of Saturday (4). The forecast is that the return to Brazil will take place at the end of the week. In addition to front-line work, the objective is to survey priorities and send other teams to the country. Volunteer firefighters carried backpacks and suitcases loaded with medicine and first aid equipment. In the kit, helmets with flashlights attached will help with search work. "It is essential both for our team and to meet the demands of patients and the population that is suffering from this situation as much as possible", says Marcelo Bidone, one of the group's members. Experience with disasters Anderson Jociel and Salatiel Slongo say they have around 25 years of experience as volunteer firefighters. Marcelo Bidone has been working for five years. The trio worked during the floods in Rio Grande do Sul. For the group, the mission is a way of giving back for the help the state received during that period. The experience of the Rio Grande do Sul tragedy will also serve as a basis for searches in Venezuela. "This teamwork part, really. Of course, the scenario is different, we are talking about an earthquake scenario, rubble. Here we had a scenario of rescue in water, in unstable masses, landslides. But this all definitely prepared us so that we can be adding to this", says Jociel. Firefighters who worked in the RS floods reinforce searches in Venezuela after earthquake Marcelo Bidone/Personal Archive VIDEOS: Everything about RS