The state of São Paulo is sending a specialized team of firefighters, doctors, and a search dog to Venezuela on Friday, June 26, 2026 [7].

The deployment comes as Venezuela struggles to respond to earthquakes that killed hundreds of people and left thousands more homeless [1]. The mission aims to provide critical search and rescue support in areas where buildings have collapsed.

The São Paulo contingent consists of 11 firefighters, two doctors, one Civil Defense captain, and one search dog [4]. This team will integrate into a larger Brazilian humanitarian mission departing from the Guarulhos Air Base [8].

While reports on the death toll vary, some sources said at least 235 people died [1], while others report at least 188 [2] or more than 180 [3]. The Brazilian mission is a multi-state effort. In addition to the São Paulo team, 13 firefighters from Minas Gerais have joined the operation [6]. In total, the broader Brazilian mission includes 36 firefighters, along with technicians from Civil Defense and Anatel [5].

The team from São Paulo specializes in operations within collapsed structures, a necessity given the nature of the seismic damage. The coordination involves the São Paulo State Government and the Military Police of the State of São Paulo [1].

Brazilian officials said the goal is to support the Venezuelan government in locating survivors and managing the immediate aftermath of the disaster. The mission emphasizes the use of specialized canine units to scan rubble for signs of life in high-density urban areas.

“São Paulo is sending a specialized team of firefighters, doctors, and a search dog to Venezuela.”

The scale of the Brazilian response, involving multiple states and specialized urban search-and-rescue units, indicates a high-severity disaster in Venezuela. The discrepancy in death tolls suggests that official counts are still evolving as rescue teams reach more remote or heavily damaged regions.