Video: Dutch rescue team arrives in Venezuela as earthquake death toll reaches 920

A Dutch Urban Search and Rescue (USAR) team arrived in Venezuela early Saturday morning to assist in the aftermath of this week’s devastating earthquakes. Local officials reported the death toll has climbed to 920. Roughly 50,000 people are still being searched for in the heavily affected northern region, including areas near Caracas.

The 64-member team, accompanied by eight search dogs, landed at 1:30 a.m. Dutch time in Maracay in northern Venezuela. The team departed Friday around midday from the Dutch Ministry of Defense air base in Eindhoven aboard a military aircraft.

From Maracay, the team traveled onward to the coastal town of Macuto, where preparations are underway for their operational deployment. “There will soon be more clarity about the location where the Base of Operations will be established,” USAR said.

Venezuela has asked the Dutch government for assistance. Foreign Trade and Development Minister Sjoerd Sjoerdsma said the Netherlands agreed immediately.

The deployment comes as Venezuela continues to assess the scale of destruction caused by the earthquakes. The search efforts concentrated in the northern part of the country, an area that includes the capital, Caracas, which has been severely impacted.