Dutch rescue team to head home as Venezuela rescue mission enters new phase

The Dutch Urban Search and Rescue Team (USAR) is returning home after helping search for survivors in Venezuela in the aftermath of the earthquakes. The mission began last Friday, and the team is "packing up today," a spokesperson told NPO Radio 1 on Wednesday morning.

A total of 64 Dutch USAR personnel and 8 search dogs were deployed to Venezuela to help locate survivors after the devastating earthquakes. The team is now returning home because the emergency response has moved into a new phase, with a spokesperson saying that "the chances of us finding anyone alive at this point are extremely small."

"We would have preferred to continue for as long as possible, but we are also seeing the local authorities move into a different phase of the response, making it more difficult for us to carry out our work," the spokesperson said. According to him, the team has worked long days and had very little sleep. "By now, we're reaching our limits."

During its deployment, the team helped search for survivors, assisted the Venezuelan Red Cross, and carried out inspections of the Dutch embassy and the residences of embassy personnel.

Venezuelan parliamentary speaker Jorge Rodríguez said on Tuesday evening that the earthquakes had claimed 1,943 lives. Officials have recorded 6,461 rescues, though Rodríguez said the true figure is likely higher when accounting for people who escaped the rubble on their own or with help from relatives and friends.

Many people remain missing, more than 10,000 have been injured, and the earthquakes have caused extensive destruction across the country.