A Canadian search and rescue team helped locate a young survivor trapped in earthquake rubble in Venezuela, where the country\u2019s official death toll has climbed to just about 3,000. Greater than 16,000 people have been left homeless.<\/p>\n
Tens of hundreds of local and international relief staff proceed search and recovery efforts. Amongst them were seven members of Burnaby Urban Search and Rescue and two search dogs, who spent 4 days trying to find survivors in a number of the country\u2019s hardest-hit areas.<\/p>\n
In an interview with Global News after returning home, Ryan Berry, president of Burnaby Urban Search and Rescue, described the destruction his team witnessed.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf I were to explain it in a single word, I\u2019d say it was devastating,\u201d Berry said. \u201cWe were in areas where entire blocks were all collapsed. Anywhere from low-rise to high-rise buildings in any respect pancaked and collapsed completely. So devastating.\u201d<\/p>\n
Story continues below commercial<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n
The Burnaby-based team deployed as a lightweight urban search and rescue unit, allowing members to succeed in the disaster zone quickly.<\/p>\n
\n\t\t\t\t\tScenes from Venezuela from the Burnaby Urban Search and Rescue Team.\t\t\t\t<\/span>
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n
\t\t\t\t\tCourtesy of the Burnaby Urban Search and Rescue Team.\t\t\t\t<\/cite>
\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/figcaption><\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n
Deployment director Shawn Mohammed said that rapid response is certainly one of the team\u2019s biggest strengths.<\/p>\n
\u201cBeing light in comparison with medium to heavy teams gives us the operational agility to get into country sooner,\u201d Mohammed said. \u201cInside that first 48 to 36 hours, it\u2019s imperative to get someone in country to start out understanding where the needs are.\u201d<\/p>\n
![\"Get](\"https:\/\/globalnews.ca\/wp-content\/themes\/shaw-globalnews\/images\/skyline\/national.jpg\")
\n\t\t\t<\/div>\nGet each day National news<\/h2>\n
Get each day Canada news delivered to your inbox so you may never miss the day’s top stories.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n
Working in sweltering heat, the team searched collapsed buildings for signs of life using specialized search techniques.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe start with our drone, after which our canine teams go onto the pile,\u201d Berry said. \u201cOur canine team are trained for live and deceased indications, in order that they can distinguish between the 2.\u201d<\/p>\n
Story continues below commercial<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n
One among those searches led to a breakthrough.<\/p>\n
\u201cEach our K9 units, individually, each indicated a live hit,\u201d Berry said. \u201cFrom there, we deployed our DELSAR, which is acoustic listening equipment.\u201d<\/p>\n
The team later learned a young boy had been rescued alive.<\/p>\n
\n\t\t\t\t\tA ruined constructing in Venezuela. Courtesy of the Burnaby Urban Search and Rescue Team.\t\t\t\t<\/span>
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/figcaption><\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n
Despite the successful rescue, Berry said it was difficult to rejoice a life saved while they were surrounded by a lot loss.<\/p>\n
\u201cBut while you\u2019re in that situation and also you\u2019re working on sites where members of the family are digging with their bare hands trying to search out their family members, it\u2019s a really limited feeling (of) celebration,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\n\t\t\t