Three boxes of Spanish humanitarian aid lost in Venezuela
Translated from Spanish, summarized and contextualized by DistantNews.
At a glance
- Three of 12 boxes of humanitarian aid sent from Spain to Venezuela have gone missing.
- The aid, containing hospital supplies collected by Venezuelan volunteers, arrived at Valencia's Arturo Michelena International Airport.
- A Spanish search and rescue brigade, USAR 13, also experienced delays in reaching Venezuela due to permit issues.
Three of twelve boxes containing humanitarian aid from Spain have disappeared after arriving in Venezuela, according to Luis Arteaga Benatuil, coordinator of the European aid transfer. The supplies, intended for victims of a recent earthquake, arrived at Arturo Michelena International Airport in Valencia on a commercial AirEuropa flight from Madrid.
When we were in Barajas, there were 12.
Arteaga explained that the boxes held hospital supplies gathered by Venezuelan volunteers. The discrepancy was noticed around 8 p.m. when the aid was being loaded onto a truck with rescue teams. He confirmed that only nine boxes were accounted for, despite all twelve being present in Madrid.
Despite inquiries to officials, the missing boxes have not been located. The disappearance represents a significant portion of the aid collected. The situation has added to the challenges faced by relief efforts in the affected region.
There is still hope. This is a rainy area and if the water reaches them, they can still survive a few more days.
Meanwhile, the Spanish USAR 13 brigade, specialized in search and rescue, also faced delays reaching Venezuela. The team arrived later than scheduled, reportedly due to issues with permits from the Venezuelan Embassy in Spain, although the embassy denied these reports. The brigade, consisting of seven rescuers, a doctor, and a trained dog, was set to join an earlier arriving group.
I cannot make many statements, I hope you understand me. The important thing is that we are here to help after almost five days of delay to be able to board, sleeping at the airport.
Originally published by El Nacional in Spanish. Translated, summarized, and contextualized by our editorial team with added local perspective. Read our editorial standards.