Search and rescue crews from Jalisco have been key in liberating survivors trapped in collapsed buildings following Tuesday’s earthquake in central Mexico, Guadalajara Spanish-language daily Mural reported Thursday.
With the help of canines and electronic technology, members of Zapopan’s elite USAR team of firefighters on Wednesday managed to locate a 94-year-old woman trapped in a fallen property in Jojutla, the worst affected town in the state of Morelos.
By 7 p.m. Wednesday, Jalisco rescue crews had inspected 150 damaged structures in an area known as “Zone Zero” close to the earthquake’s epicenter, Mural reported.
Jalisco has sent almost 200 rescue workers – including municipal firefighters and Red Cross personnel – to help in the relief effort. They have taken with them more than 20 tons of equipment, as well as four ambulances and a number of trained sniffer dogs.
The Jalisco crews are working alongside the Topos, the renowned professional non-profit rescue team established after the 1985 quake. The specialty of the Topos is searching for victims under the debris of collapsed buildings and, in the words of their founder, “Having the balls to go in where no one else will.”