El Salvador’s USAR Task Force has officially commenced ground operations in Venezuela, securing an early and critical presence in the disaster zone. The contingent made landfall and deployed directly to the Caribe neighborhood in La Guaira state, becoming the first international rescue team to arrive at the heavily damaged Bahía Mar apartment buildings.
The Bahía Mar complex, a multi-story residential structure, suffered catastrophic structural failure during Wednesday’s twin earthquakes. Upon arrival Friday morning, the Salvadoran team immediately established a command post and initiated structural stabilization protocols to safely penetrate the upper tiers of the collapsed masonry and twisted steel.
During their initial hours of operation, the multidisciplinary team achieved a critical milestone by recovering one of the victims trapped within the wreckage of the Caribe neighborhood. The operation required intense coordination, utilizing heavy machinery brought from El Salvador alongside delicate manual extraction techniques to prevent further structural shifts.
The rescue mission is an extensive joint effort comprising personnel from El Salvador’s Civil Protection, the National Fire Corps, and the National Civil Police (PNC) through their Order Maintenance Unit. Vital medical and tactical support is being provided on-site by emergency agencies including Fosalud, the SEM 132, the Salvadoran Red Cross, the Green Cross, and Comandos de Salvamento.
This successful, rapid deployment to the Bahia Mar buildings underscores the operational readiness of the Salvadoran task force. Working through shifting debris, the combined rescue units continue to systematically clear the complex, driven by the urgency of finding remaining residents who are still unaccounted for.