Lithuanian rescuers head to earthquake-hit Venezuela

Lithuania is dispatching two specialized international aid components – a Search and Rescue Team (LERT) and an Emergency Medical Team (EMT) – to Venezuela to assist in the aftermath of a severe earthquake. The teams will join international efforts to save lives following the natural disaster.

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Our goal is to reach a specific region of Venezuela affected by the earthquake and provide assistance in searching for and rescuing people from the rubble.

A press conference was held on Sunday to see off the rescuers and outline the mission's objectives and the teams' preparations for working in extreme conditions. Gediminas Šukšta, head of the LERT mission to Venezuela, stated that his team comprises 24 individuals. This includes 20 officers from the State Fire and Rescue Service, two from the State Border Guard Service with their canine units, and two medical professionals.

Šukšta explained their primary goal is to reach a specific region in earthquake-stricken Venezuela to conduct search and rescue operations in the rubble. "Our goal is to reach a specific region of Venezuela affected by the earthquake and provide assistance in searching for and rescuing people from the rubble," he said. He added that while the immediate need is to find bodies to return to families, the team hopes to find survivors. The rescuers are certified according to United Nations requirements and many participated in a similar mission in Turkey in 2023.

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We hope, of course, to find living people. But in any case, we will do all the work that is necessary to carry out that mission.

Šukšta highlighted the immense psychological pressure rescuers face. "When you are working near a collapsed building or several collapsed buildings, and you see people behind your back waiting for results, everyone expects a miracle, of course. Then one of the biggest pressures – both moral and even verbal pressure during the mission. It is the hardest thing – to withstand that environment, which is full of loss, full of tension," he shared before their departure.

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It is the hardest thing – to withstand that environment, which is full of loss, full of tension.

EMT team leader Greta Beinaravičiūtė reported that the earthquake has affected over 800,000 people in Venezuela, with approximately 2,000 fatalities and many still missing. She noted that Venezuela's health system is severely overstretched, struggling to cope with the number of casualties. "The Venezuelan health system is overstretched, as huge capacities are needed for the current number of affected people. But at the same time, they have limited capacity to admit patients and a limited number of staff who are also overworked," Beinaravičiūtė stated. The EMT aims to be highly mobile and deployable to remote areas.

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The Venezuelan health system is overstretched, as huge capacities are needed for the current number of affected people. But at the same time, they have limited capacity to admit patients and a limited number of staff who are also overworked.