UK sends rescue team and £2 million aid after Venezuela earthquakes

Britain sent a 68-strong International Search and Rescue team from RAF Brize Norton on a Voyager aircraft, alongside six specialist search dogs, specialist drones and humanitarian staff, as Venezuela’s earthquake toll climbed and crews searched for people still believed trapped in Caracas and beyond. The government also announced an initial £2 million in humanitarian funding to support immediate response and coordination.

The deployment is built for the first 72 hours after a major collapse, when speed and technical capability matter most. UK ISAR teams can work in unstable buildings, use drones to assess damaged structures and identify hazards such as compromised roofs, and guide rescue crews toward pockets where survivors may still be found. The flight also carried supply chain, humanitarian and security specialists, a sign that rescue work in the opening phase depends as much on logistics and access as on ropes, cameras and detection gear.

The team brought together firefighters and specialists from 14 UK Fire and Rescue Services and was led by Merseyside Fire and Rescue Service. British officials said the same network had previously supported major overseas disaster responses in Türkiye and Morocco in 2023, experience that matters when foreign teams are asked to plug gaps local responders cannot fill immediately. In a fast-moving disaster, those gaps are usually in technical search, structural assessment, airlifted equipment and coordination, not basic local knowledge of streets, hospitals and shelters.

The United Nations said the first quake measured 7.2, with its epicentre near San Felipe, a city of about 220,000 people, and that the second measured 7.5 and was the strongest to hit Venezuela in more than 125 years. As of 25 June 2026, UN officials said at least 164 people had been confirmed dead and 971 injured. The scale of casualties suggests the international teams are arriving at a point when they can still change some outcomes, but mostly by reaching people trapped in voids and easing pressure on overwhelmed local responders.

Tom Fletcher said he was in close contact with the UN team in Caracas and had spoken with the interim president as priorities were assessed. OCHA was coordinating the international search-and-rescue response through the global urban rescue network, while agencies including WFP, IOM, UNOPS and UNHCR tracked the wider humanitarian needs. Keir Starmer said Britain stood in solidarity with Venezuelans affected by the earthquakes and was working with international partners to get vital support to those most in need as quickly as possible.