Venezuela Sends 52 Rescuers to Türkiye and Syria

On Wednesday morning, Venezuela sent 52 specialists to Türkiye and Syria to collaborate in rescue actions in the areas affected by the earthquakes.

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They are firefighters and members of the Civil Protection and the Simon Bolivar Humanitarian Task Force. Accompanied by six rescue dogs, the specialists departed on a Conviasa airline plane, which was also transporting 22 tons of humanitarian aid.

The Venezuelan rescuers will make a first stop in Syria, where they will deliver part of the food and medicine they carry. The firefighters will stay in this country.

Subsequently, the plane will continue to Türkiye, where the other part of the humanitarian assistance will be delivered and the rest of the Civil Protection team will disembark.

At the airport from which the plane took off, Venezuelan Foreign Affairs Minister Yvan Gil ratified the solidarity of President Nicolas Maduro with the peoples of Türkiye and Syria.

The international community must raise its voice now so that the U.S. sanctions against Syria be lifted immediately and its population can receive the resources it needs, Gil stressed.

On Monday, Türkiye and Syria were shaken by two earthquakes that have left over 11,200 dead and some 55,000 people injured, according to the most recent official estimates.