Paraná firefighters search for survivors in 'vital spaces' after earthquakes in Venezuela

Paraná firefighters operate in Venezuela Ten military firefighters from Paraná, with two search dogs, are in Venezuela to help with rescue efforts for victims buried by the earthquakes that hit the country. This Monday (29), Lieutenant Colonel Ícaro Gabriel Greinert, who leads the team, explained that they are searching for people who are alive among the rubble, in "vital spaces" - structural gaps that form with the debris and that provide safety. Watch above. ✅ Follow the g1 PR channel on WhatsApp ➡️ On Wednesday night (24), two earthquakes with magnitudes of 7.2 and 7.5 hit the northern region of the country, where Caracas is located, in an interval of less than a minute. The quakes were the strongest in the country in over 100 years. At least 1,450 people died, 3,150 were injured, 774 buildings were damaged, and 189 collapsed, according to Venezuelan authorities. In an interview with RPC, a TV Globo affiliate in Paraná, Greinert said that the team is on the coast of Venezuela, near Caracas and La Guaira, where the tremors hit a strip of approximately 60 kilometers on the descent of the mountain range. According to the firefighter, the region is composed of tall buildings - up to 15 stories high - that collapsed. Photo shared by firefighters from the site where they are working in search of earthquake victims in Venezuela. CBMPR People who were on the surface of the debris were removed by Venezuelan professionals, according to the lieutenant colonel. Now, five days after the earthquakes, the task force is using sniffer dogs and specialized equipment to search for those inside the piles of concrete of the buildings that collapsed. "That is the location we are trying to access. That is why this work is very difficult," he explained. The Paraná firefighters, who study the history of major earthquakes recorded around the world, guarantee that there is a possibility of finding survivors in vital spaces in the rubble for up to 10 days of searching. "A very complex scenario, where, even at this moment, we are searching among this rubble for people who are alive," said the lieutenant colonel. The Paraná team is part of the Brazilian task force, also composed of teams from São Paulo and Minas Gerais. The military personnel are part of BRA-01, a team specialized in urban search and rescue in the process of certification with the United Nations (UN). In total, 36 firefighters are participating in this first international mission and were sent to the country on Thursday (25). The date of these soldiers' return to Brazil was not disclosed. Lieutenant Colonel Ícaro Gabriel Greinert leads the team of Paraná firefighters in Venezuela. CBMPR/Reproduction/RPC Read also: 'Fan effect': Energy consumption drops during Brazil's World Cup games and rises rapidly after the final whistle VIDEO: 'Ligeirinho' bus is caught driving in the wrong direction on a busy street in Curitiba Crime: Brazilian arrested in Italy was a fugitive for involvement with a neo-Nazi group and for the death of a couple in PR in 2009 'Feeling of great sadness' Greinert reported to RPC that Venezuela is experiencing a "feeling of great sadness." He said that everyone who survived the earthquakes knows victims. "Everyone lost someone in the region. Either a relative, or a friend, or an acquaintance is missing or is confirmed [as dead]," said the firefighter. Almost 24 hours after the tremors, many residents claimed that help had not yet reached several affected areas. In some places, such as the coastal city of La Guaira, the most affected, residents spent the day digging through the rubble with their own hands in search of survivors. 'We don't know where he is': Venezuelan woman living in Paraná says her nephew jumped out of a building window moments before it collapsed in the earthquakes Understand the earthquake in Venezuela Art/g1 VIDEOS: Most watched from g1 Paraná Read more news on g1 Paraná.