Photo courtesy of Anadolu
China on Friday said it will send emergency humanitarian assistance and a rescue team to support relief efforts in Venezuela, where two Chinese nationals among 235 people were killed in twin earthquakes on late Wednesday.
Foreign Ministry spokesperson Guo Jiakun said the Chinese government had conveyed its sympathies to the Venezuelan government and people following the disaster, which caused heavy casualties and widespread economic damage.
“The Chinese government and the Red Cross Society of China will provide emergency humanitarian aid to Venezuela, respectively,” Guo told reporters in Beijing.
Beijing will also send a rescue team to assist with search-and-rescue operations and medical relief, he said.
“Verified information shows that as of today, two Chinese nationals have died in the earthquakes,” Guo said, adding that the Chinese Embassy in Venezuela was providing consular assistance and working to determine the safety of other Chinese citizens in the country.
Venezuela declared a state of emergency late Wednesday after a magnitude 7.2 earthquake and a magnitude 7.5 earthquake devastated parts of the country, killing at least 235 people and injuring more than 4,300 others. (Anadolu)