In the early morning of July 11, the rescue and relief forces of the Vietnam People's Army and the Vietnam People's Police returned to the country safely, excellently completing the humanitarian mission to support Venezuela in overcoming the consequences of the earthquake that occurred on June 24.
Welcoming the delegation at Noi Bai International Airport were members of the Party Central Committee: Senior Lieutenant General Nguyen Van Hien - Deputy Minister of National Defense and Senior Lieutenant General Le Van Tuyen - Deputy Minister of Public Security.
Also attending the ceremony were Senior Lieutenant General Phung Si Tan - Deputy Chief of the General Staff of the Vietnam People's Army; Senior Lieutenant General Do Xuan Tung - Member of the Party Central Committee, Deputy Director of the General Department of Politics of the Vietnam People's Army.
On the Venezuelan side was Ms. Estela Del Valle Quijada Suarez, Charge d'Affaires interim of the Venezuelan Embassy in Vietnam.
The Vietnamese rescue and relief delegation participating in overcoming the consequences of the earthquake in Venezuela has 124 members, including the Army and Police forces, led by Major General Pham Van Ty - Deputy Director of the Department of Rescue and Relief (General Staff), Deputy Chief of Office of the National Civil Defense Steering Committee as Head of the delegation; Colonel Pham Hung Duong - Deputy Director of the Fire and Rescue Police Department (Ministry of Public Security) as Deputy Head of the delegation.
This is the 3rd time Vietnam has sent forces and vehicles abroad to carry out humanitarian assistance and disaster relief missions. In which, many comrades have participated in supporting the Government and people of Turkey and Myanmar to overcome the earthquake disasters in 2023 and 2025.
Throughout the 12-day and night trip to participate in rescue and relief missions in Venezuela, 124 members of the Vietnamese delegation and a team of nghiệp vụ dogs worked non-stop with the hope of searching for earthquake victims as soon as possible.
The Army and Police forces and equipment were divided into different directions to perform tasks in coordination with the Venezuelan side.
The delegation also actively searched for victims at locations around the place of duty when receiving specific support requests from the victim's family.
During their mission in Venezuela, the Vietnamese delegation removed 57 bodies of victims from collapsed structures, identified more locations suspected of still having victims to hand over to local forces for further handling.
The delegation also opened emergency, treatment, and medical examination and treatment stations for people in the area. The delegation also visited, encouraged, and donated money and essential goods to people and local rescue forces...
Recognizing and honoring the outstanding contributions of the Vietnamese delegation, Venezuela awarded the First-class "Venezuelan Hero" Medal to the collective, the Second-class "Venezuelan Hero" Medal to all 124 members, and the "Service Merit" Medal to the delegation's nghiệp vụ dog team.
