A week after the earthquake in Colombia: IDF delegation prepares for the recovery phase
Rescue teams are operating in the city of Cali to locate missing persons under the rubble, while simultaneously mapping damaged buildings. Delegation commander, Col. Yossi Pinto: 'The chance of finding life is decreasing, we will soon move to recovery.' The Colombian Minister of Defense expressed gratitude for the aid and the warming of relations between the countries.
A week after the earthquake that struck Colombia, the IDF delegation continues today (Monday) with operations to locate missing persons and rescue the wounded in the area of the city of Cali. Parallel to the rescue efforts, the delegation is operating engineering teams to map the damage in preparation for the transition to the recovery phase in the coming days.
The earthquake that occurred on August 10 caused severe damage to the western and central parts of Colombia. The Israeli rescue delegation, which arrived on the ground 96 hours after the disaster, is focusing on the Cali area, a city with about two million residents. There are several centers of destruction in the city and hundreds of buildings that were damaged. The Israeli teams are operating in three out of five active destruction sites, where there are still trapped people and missing persons.
"Tomorrow morning we will enter the eighth day since the earthquake, and as time passes, the chances of finding missing persons alive are decreasing," explained the delegation commander, Col. Yossi Pinto.
According to him, the rescue phase is expected to end in the next two days, and the forces will move to work with local authorities on recovery plans. The delegation, which is the largest currently operating in the country, consists of rescue and engineering experts, and is assisted by technological systems brought from Israel and adapted to the local terrain.
Beyond the searches among the ruins, engineering experts are touring the city together with representatives of the local government to diagnose and map the damaged buildings. Pinto noted that the experience of the forces, who returned only about three weeks ago from a complex rescue operation in a disaster zone in Venezuela, allows for more efficient work. "We are making the operation more precise. A site where the locals could have worked for long days, we finish faster and save resources," he added.
The activity of the rescue teams from Israel is carried out in close cooperation with local government officials, from the regional level to the ministerial level. In a video call that Col. Pinto held with the Minister of Defense of Colombia from within the destruction zone, the minister thanked the delegation for the rescue efforts. The Colombian minister emphasized the importance of rebuilding the historical ties between the countries and praised the close working relations between the local security forces and the Israeli teams on the ground.
