Los Angeles County firefighters have provided support in Venezuela after powerful back-to-back earthquakes devastated the South American country’s northern state of La Guaira.
The LA County Fire Department shared in a post to social media on Sunday aerial images of the destruction from the temblors. Members from the department’s USA-2 team flew to Venezuela to execute aerial and ground damage assessments across areas that were impacted by the natural disasters.
Photos depict the crews with protective gear and helmets on as they canvassed through destroyed and heavily damaged structures. Aerial images showed the extent of the destruction in La Guaira.
On Wednesday, Caracas, Venezuela’s capital, was struck by 7.2 and 7.5 magnitude earthquakes that occurred less than a minute apart, killing at least 1,450, according to the Venezuelan government.
Panicked residents continue searching for loved ones who went missing after the temblors, with support from more than 2,000 rescue workers from around the world.
The Los Angeles County Fire Department arrived in Venezuela on Friday as part of the U.S. Department of State’s Urban Search and Rescue (USAR) response team. Joining the local firefighters are the Virginia Task Force 1 USAR team and a crew from the Miami-Dade Fire Rescue team.
All three USAR teams present in Venezuela make up 312 members and 18 K-9 teams. They traveled with more than 200,000 pounds of specialized equipment to help with their operations.