LOS ANGELES, Sept. 20 (Xinhua) -- A lead group of searching and rescuing team members of the Los Angeles County Fire Department called USA-2, was deployed Wednesday to Mexico to help the recovery of a 7.1 magnitude earthquake happened near Mexico City.
The special group got call at about 12:00 a.m. on Wednesday to stand by and pack up the gears at Pacoima city of Los Angeles Metropolis, and ready to go to Mexico City to assist with the aftermath of the devastating earthquake, which killed hundreds of people.
The team packaged with 55,000 pounds (24,750 kilograms) rescue tools and medical equipment, according to Fox News, the group included firefighters, emergency room physicians, structural engineers, heavy equipment specialists, search dogs, communication specialists and logistics specialists.
One of the firefighters told Fox News that they are very proud to be part of this, they do this is because they love helping people out.
An experienced firefighter, who is also a volunteer of first-responder with Reach Out Worldwide, Dave Marquez was quoted by ABC news as saying that many obstacles lie ahead for the emergency personnel who are on their way to the deconstruction, such as the road closures and the transportation they can get there.
"But the next 24 to 48 hours will be critical for rescuing," Marquez said.
USA-2 is part of the USAID Disaster Assistance Response Team (DART), an elite team of disaster scale disasters overseas. DART has been deployed oversea 16 times since 1988, most recently for the Nepal 2015 earthquake and 2011 Japan earthquake and tsunami.
