First Portuguese to be repatriated from disaster-hit Venezuela arrive at Figo Maduro airport

The first Portuguese citizens evacuated from earthquake-battered Venezuela arrived back in Portugal in the early hours of this morning, after a Portuguese Air Force Embraer KC-390 landed at the military air base of Figo Maduro in Lisbon.

According to flight tracking website AirNav Radar, the aircraft touched down at 05:18 local time carrying 19 Portuguese nationals.

Defence Minister Nuno Melo announced on Monday that 17 citizens would be repatriated, but Portuguese broadcaster CMTV later reported that 19 people were on board. The flight had initially been expected to land in Beja.

The group are the first Portuguese nationals to be repatriated since the devastating earthquakes that struck Venezuela on June 24.

The latest official death toll stands at 1,719 people, with 5,034 others injured.

Among the dead are at least 60 Portuguese citizens and people of Portuguese descent, while another 89 remain missing or unaccounted for, according to Portuguese authorities.

The United Nations has also reported that more than 50,000 people remain missing following the disaster, underlining the scale of the humanitarian crisis.

Portugal is among several countries, alongside other European Union member states, to have dispatched search-and-rescue teams to support relief efforts in the Venezuelan state of La Guaira, one of the areas worst affected by the earthquakes.

Portuguese rescue personnel spent several days waiting for operational authorisation from Venezuelan authorities after arriving in the country – delaying their deployment despite repeated assurances from Lisbon that specialist teams and equipment were ready to assist.

Melo said Portugal’s Armed Forces remain available to support the international response for as long as required.

“So far, the requests have been logistical and transport-related,” he said, adding that Portugal’s willingness to assist Venezuela “is permanent”.

Melo also said the government has not received any request for state assistance with the repatriation of the remains of Portuguese citizens or of people of Portuguese descent killed in the disaster.

Source: Diário de Notícias/ LUSA

Natasha Donn

Journalist for the Portugal Resident.