Cologne/Caracas. Malteser International’s Emergency Response Team arrived in the disaster zone over the weekend and has begun operations. “The situation on the ground is catastrophic. In fact, isolated rescues are still taking place. Absolute silence is required in the surrounding area to hear survivors in the rubble. The silence hanging over the destroyed homes moved me deeply. There are too few ambulances, and some of the injured are being transported improvised on motorcycles to nearby hospitals. There is a particular shortage of emergency medical equipment, medicines, and supplies for trauma care,” says Jonas Jung, Emergency Relief Coordinator at Malteser International, from La Guaira.
“The Order of Malta Venezuela is treating the injured in La Guaira and distributing drinking water and clothing to those affected. Together with our local partner organization PALUZ, we will also deploy thirty fully equipped mobile medical units over a period of three months to ensure continuous, decentralized medical care for people in the hardest-hit areas of Caracas, La Guaira, and Miranda. In addition, given the acute shortage of medicines in the crisis region, we are sending medications and medical supplies from Germany,” says Jung.
The mobile teams will travel to different communities daily and provide medical care on site. Two physicians from Malteser International’s Pool of Experts will also join an Emergency Medical Team from Johanniter-Unfall-Hilfe, which will travel to the earthquake zone on Tuesday. Following the severe earthquakes last Wednesday, tens of thousands of people are still missing. Malteser International has been working with local partner organizations in Venezuela for years.
Attention editors:
Photos and a video can be downloaded here.
Jonas Jung, Emergency Relief Coordinator at Malteser International, is available for interviews and soundbites.
Contact: +49 (0)221 9822-7181, katharina.kiecol@malteser-international.org
The people in Venezuela are urgently in need of donations:
Donate now!
Malteser Hilfsdienst e. V.
IBAN: DE10 3706 0120 1201 2000 12
S.W.I.F.T.: GENODED 1PA7
Keyword: „Earthquake Venezuela“
Malteser is a member of Germany’s Relief Coalition (ADH)
Donation reference: “Earthquake Venezuela”
IBAN: DE62 3702 0500 0000 1020 30 (SozialBank)
