Seven members of Burnaby Urban Search and Rescue at the moment are heading to Venezuela to assist find and rescue people trapped by the earthquakes.
The death toll is approaching 1,000 after two powerful earthquakes struck the country.
Greater than 3,000 people were injured within the back-to-back earthquakes, which struck the region on Wednesday.
The Burnaby team includes two firefighters, paramedics and law enforcement officials, together with two dogs.
They received the green light from the Venezuelan government on Wednesday morning and said they’ll likely spend five to seven days within the country.
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The owner of a personal plane also donated a flight so the team can have a better time accessing the danger zone, as business airports have been damaged.
“It’s a collaborative effort,” Shawn Mohammed, the Burnaby USAR deployment director, said.
“You actually can’t do it alone. So we’re very humbled to have great support with us once we deploy.”
Ryan Berry, the president of Burnaby USAR, said they’ll assess where they’re needed once they get on the bottom.
“Once we’ve got our feet on the bottom, normally what appears to be the most important priority are the fundamental necessities of life, food and water, just providing any help we will,” he said.
Burnaby USAR is a volunteer organization that deploys to countries to assist people following natural disasters.
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