Germany prepares emergency aid for Venezuela following the earthquakes
Following a request for assistance from Venezuela, preparations for an aid mission are currently underway in Germany. Six transport aircraft are available.
Berlin (dpa) – The Federal Government wants to quickly provide aid to Venezuela following the severe earthquakes. “Relief supplies such as water filters, camp beds, tents and generators are available for this purpose,” the Federal Foreign Office and the Ministry of Defence announced after a coordinated meeting of the Federal Government’s crisis task force.
It was also reported that the different departments were in contact with civilian aid and disaster relief organisations to coordinate activities. Venezuela had submitted a request for international assistance based on the EU civil protection mechanism in the afternoon. Support options are now being considered at the European level.
The Federal Foreign Office has been in contact with the German disaster relief task forces and international partners since the night the earthquakes happened. Planning provides for the first teams of the Federal Agency for Technical Relief (THW) and other organisations, as well as colleagues from Switzerland, to leave for the region on Thursday to explore the situation.
The air force airlift squadron 62 in Wunstorf in Lower Saxony has been preparing six type A400M transport aircraft for the mission. The Ministry of Defence reported that one of these aircraft was suitable for medical evacuation, that is for transporting individuals requiring medical assistance. Type A400M aircraft can transport up to 16 tonnes of materials and personnel. The pure flight time to the crisis region that is 8,200 kilometres away is around 13 hours.
