RAF Voyager deploys UK search and rescue team after Venezuela's twin earthquakes

An RAF Voyager has flown a UK search and rescue team to Venezuela as international crews race to find survivors after a double earthquake killed more than 1,400 people.

The UK International Search and Rescue team left RAF Brize Norton with six specialist search dogs and drones to support efforts to find and rescue people trapped after the earthquakes.

The drones are being sent to help assess structural collapses, identify hazards including compromised roofs, and direct rescue teams.

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The deployment is being supported by an initial £2m in UK humanitarian funding. It comes as the window for finding survivors beneath collapsed structures narrows, with emergency teams from around the world continuing searches in some of the country's worst-hit areas.

The team includes firefighters and specialists from 14 fire and rescue services across the UK, led by Merseyside Fire and Rescue Service.

RAF aircrew and logisticians prepared the Voyager and coordinated the deployment. The flight also carried members of the UK's humanitarian field team, including supply chain, humanitarian and security specialists.

Armed Forces Minister Louise Sandher-Jones said the Armed Forces had moved quickly to transport specialist personnel and equipment to support rescue efforts.

An advance team from the UK Emergency Medical Team is also travelling to assess urgent health needs and inform any further UK medical support.

The £2m package is intended to support immediate life-saving work and the wider international response, including through the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies' Disaster Response Emergency Fund and the UN Central Emergency Response Fund.