Brazil sends second FAB plane to Venezuela

Among the items shipped are 100 water purifiers equipped with solar panels. Each unit has the capacity to treat up to 5 thousand liters of water per day, allowing the supply of communities where infrastructure was destroyed by the tremors. The flight also carries medicines, hospital supplies and materials for surgical procedures.

The operation is part of the humanitarian mission authorized by President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva and coordinated by the Brazilian Cooperation Agency (ABC), linked to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, in support of the Venezuelan authorities and international efforts to respond to the tragedy.

First FAB flight has arrived in Venezuela

The first FAB plane landed at 11:40 pm (Brasília time) on Friday (26) at El Libertador Air Base, in Maracay. Also a KC-390 Millennium, the flight transported doctors, sniffer dogs, teams specialized in urban search and rescue, as well as approximately 12 tons of equipment for rescue operations.

The mission brings together professionals from the National Secretariat for Civil Protection and Defense (Sedec/MIDR), military personnel from the Fire Departments of Minas Gerais, São Paulo and Paraná and specialists from the National Telecommunications Agency (Anatel), who will work to support communications in affected areas.

Death toll passes 900

According to the Venezuelan government, the death toll reached 920, while 3,360 people were injured. Authorities also reported that 172 victims remain under the rubble and thousands of residents remain homeless.

On Friday (26), the United States Geological Survey (USGS) recorded two new tremors, of magnitudes 4.4 and 4.7, felt in the regions of Caracas and Maracay. Aftershocks increase the risks for rescue teams, as they can cause new collapses in structures compromised by the main earthquakes.

Wednesday’s earthquakes (24), of magnitudes 7.2 and 7.5, were the strongest recorded in Venezuela since 1900. The country is located on the boundary between the Caribbean and South American tectonic plates, a region of intense seismic activity.

Brazilians among the victims

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs confirmed the deaths of two Brazilians as a result of the disaster.

One of the victims identified by the family is Vanessa Zacarias da Silva, 44, from Brasilia. According to relatives, she had lived for around two months in La Guaira, one of the cities hardest hit by the earthquakes, where she lived with her Venezuelan boyfriend.

In a statement, Itamaraty reported that it provides consular assistance to the families of the victims and monitors the developments of the tragedy.