A ten-member Los Angeles County Fire search and rescue team has returned to L.A. Thursday night after a mission in earthquake-ravaged Columbia. The 7.4 quake left hundreds of people dead and thousands trapped in the rubble.
Chris Allender, a battalion chief with L.A. County Fire and task force leader, described the scene in Colombia.
“There were isolated pockets with lots of damage and pockets with no damage, and there was a lot of damage here, but the Colombians had a very robust search and rescue program,” he told KNX News’ Jon Baird. “So they did not need rescuers per se. They needed our technical expertise.”
Capt. Russell Pettitt said he was happy to be returning home.
“I got a wife and two kids to come home to, so I'm very excited to see my son and daughter,” he said.
The L.A. County team partnered with a 10-member search and rescue team from Fairfax County, Virginia.
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