- Title: "Our main mission is to save lives" - rescue teams deploy to Bahamas
- Date: 6th September 2019
- Summary: FORT LAUDERDALE, FLORIDA (SEPTEMBER 6, 2019) (REUTERS) VARIOUS, RESCUE TEAMS CARRYING THEIR GEAR WALKING TO GATE, QUEUING, WAITING TO BOARD BOAT (SOUNDBITE) (English) FIREFIGHTER CAPTAIN DAVID NUNEZ, SAYING: "Currently the two teams are comprised of 15 members of City of Miami and 15 members from Miami Dade County. Both of whom are equally established as far as search and rescue members. We have medical staff as far as doctors and paramedics on staff. We also do have drone capability with us to be able to look into outlying areas and make the searches a little faster to be able to get to areas that have not been had not been looked at yet. We also have hazardous materials teams with us and from there we'll make a determination whether or not we need additional resources and we have crews ready to follow up behind us up to all the accounts of 88 people per team for City of Miami as well as Miami Dade County to make a full Type 1 roster of heavy rigging specialist, medical specialists, hazardous materials, as well as logistics specialists, and swift water capabilities if we need it." VARIOUS, RESCUE TEAMS CARRYING RESCUE GEAR WALKING TO GATE, WAITING TO BOARD BOAT (SOUNDBITE) (Spanish) MIAMI FIREFIGHTERS SPOKESPERSON, ERIKA BENITEZ, SAYING: "At this moment 15 members of the Miami Dade Fire Department are leaving from Fort Lauderdale to Freeport with obviously the goal and the main mission of saving lives." RESCUE TEAMS BOARDING BOAT VARIOUS OF RESCUE TEAMS WAITING IN LINE TO BOARD BOAT RESCUE TEAMS ON BOARD (SOUNDBITE) (English) DORA SILVERSTEIN-BAHAMIAN FROM BIMINI WHO SOUGHT RESCUE IN THE UNITED STATES DURING DORIAN TRAVELING BACK, SAYING: "It makes a stop at Bimini so I'm headed home. Yeah. Starting to make some preparations to help send some stuff for relief all that stuff. You know Freeport is our neighboring island and that's where we gotta go when emergencies happen in Bimini. So we've got gotta make sure they're good. VARIOUS OF PEOPLE BOARDING BOAT HEADED TO BAHAMAS
- Embargoed: 20th September 2019 17:29
- Keywords: Hurricane Dorian rescue Bahamas storm
- Location: FORT LAUDERDALES, FLORIDA, UNITED STATES
- City: FORT LAUDERDALES, FLORIDA, UNITED STATES
- Country: USA
- Topics: Disaster/Accidents,Wind/Hurricane/Typhoons/Tornadoes
- Reuters ID: LVA001AVITYYV
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text: As a humanitarian crisis continues in the Bahamas in the wake of Hurricane Dorian, rescue teams continued to be deployed on Friday (September 6) with the "main mission of saving lives" to areas of the island-nation hardest hit by the Category 5 storm, a spokesperson for the Miami Fire Department told Reuters.
"We have medical staff as far as doctors and paramedics on staff. We also do have drone capability with us to be able to look into outlying areas and make the searches a little faster to be able to get to areas that have not been had not been looked at yet. We also have hazardous materials teams with us" Firefighter Captain Nunez explained.
Also boarding the Balearia Caribbean ferry were many Bahamians returning home. Dora Silverstein sought rescue in the United States during the hurricane and was looking forward to getting back home and assist in the emergency operation.
Dorian, the most powerful hurricane to ever hit the Bahamas, swept through the Abaco Islands and Grand Bahama Island earlier this week, leveling entire neighborhoods and knocking out key infrastructure, including airport landing strips and a hospital.
Hundreds, if not thousands, of people are still missing, and officials say the death toll, which currently stands at 30, is likely to shoot up as more bodies are discovered in the ruins and floodwaters left behind by the storm.
(Production: Alberto Fajardo / Temis Tormo) - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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