Cancun, Quintana Roo — Two new rescue groups departed from Cancun on Tuesday night to assist thousands of people affected by the recent earthquakes in Venezuela, joining a team already working in the disaster zone.
Oscar Aguilar Aceves, director of the Benito Juarez Fire Department, said the volunteer teams include experts in collapsed structure search and rescue, as well as canine units (K9).
The teams comprise firefighters, paramedics, and civil protection personnel from Cancun, Isla Mujeres, and Puerto Morelos. They will work 24-hour shifts for an estimated seven days.
The deployment includes the Brek K9 group, with six members and three search dogs, and the SAR MX (Search and Rescue) team. SAR MX is a highly specialized technical unit carrying nearly 1.5 tons of cargo, including medical supplies and advanced technology such as thermal cameras and motion and sound sensors. It also brings an additional canine team to strengthen survivor detection efforts.
The rescuers left their base at 9:00 p.m. to join a flight that also carried rescue workers from Santa Catarina, Nuevo Leon, and Mexico City. The airline coordinating the flight expected an additional 200 rescuers to arrive to reinforce operations.
The Mexican groups will operate under United Nations international search and rescue protocols.
BRIC Team Already on the Ground
In La Guaira, a team from the Cancun International Rescue Brigade (BRIC) has been working for several days to locate survivors trapped under rubble. So far, the 10 BRIC members have inspected more than 36 structures, and that number is expected to rise as power and telecommunications are restored, allowing people to send messages about their locations.
“We have confirmed live patients in different structures, but due to risk conditions, rescues have been delayed,” said Enrique Ochoa, BRIC emergency coordinator.
Many buildings have severe structural damage, making them uninhabitable or posing an ongoing risk to both the population and rescuers. To ensure efficiency, the groups will operate under UN protocols through the International Search and Rescue Advisory Group (INSARAG).
