MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

UK sends a 68-strong search and rescue team and £2 million in aid to Venezuela

The UK's International Search and Rescue team, made up of 68 personnel and six specialist dogs, departed from Brize Norton on a RAF aircraft to assist in locating and rescuing people

The United Kingdom on Friday deployed a specialist search and rescue team of 68 people and announced an initial £2 million (about $2.7 million) in humanitarian funding to support the response to the earthquakes that devastated north-central Venezuela, where the latest official toll exceeds 580 dead and 2,900 injured.

The UK's International Search and Rescue team (UK ISAR), made up of 68 personnel and six specialist dogs, departed from RAF Brize Norton on a Royal Air Force aircraft to assist in locating and rescuing people trapped in the rubble. The contingent, composed of firefighters and specialists from fourteen UK fire and rescue services and led by Merseyside, is carrying drones able to safely assess structural collapses and identify hazards. Members of the UK's humanitarian field team, including logistics, aid and security specialists, traveled on the same flight.

“My thoughts are with the people of Venezuela following this week's devastating earthquakes,” said the UK's caretaker Prime Minister, Keir Starmer, who stepped down as Labour Party leader on June 22 and remains in office until a successor is chosen. “The UK stands in solidarity with all those affected, particularly those who have lost loved ones, homes and livelihoods,” he added, noting that the country is working with international partners to ensure support reaches those in need “as quickly as possible.”

Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper said the rescue teams were “deploying to help save lives” and recalled the £2 million package for the humanitarian response. UK ISAR, part of the UK's National Resilience capability, is on permanent standby to respond to disasters overseas and took part in 2023 in the operations following the earthquakes in Türkiye and Morocco. The Minister for the Armed Forces, Louise Sandher-Jones, stressed that the British military “moved quickly” to transport the personnel and equipment.

Experts from the UK's Emergency Medical Team (UK EMT) also traveled to Venezuela to assess urgent health needs, an analysis that will inform any further medical deployment. The British government specified that the £2 million package will support both immediate activity and the wider international response, and recalled that the country is a major contributor to global emergency funds, such as the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies' Disaster Response Emergency Fund (DREF) and the UN Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF), which have already allocated resources for the response in Venezuela.

The British contribution adds to a broad international mobilization. The United States, Mexico, El Salvador, Qatar, the Dominican Republic and India, among other countries, have sent or announced rescue teams and humanitarian aid, while teams work against the clock in the coastal state of La Guaira, the hardest hit and militarized by the authorities to coordinate relief efforts.