SANTA CRUZ DE TENERIFE, 30 Oct (EUROPA PRESS) –
The Government of the Canary Islands has mobilised over 60 firefighters from the consortia of Tenerife, Gran Canaria and Lanzarote, as well as the Forest Fire Intervention and Reinforcement Teams (EIRIF), to assist the communities impacted by the passage of the DANA.
A helicopter from the Emergency and Rescue Group (GES) and several drone units have also been provided to aid in the search, rescue and support operations currently being undertaken across the areas affected by this climatic event.
This deployment has been communicated to the National Emergency Monitoring and Coordination Centre (CENEM) of the Home Office, where all assistance from various autonomous communities is coordinated, following a meeting involving the Minister of Territorial Policy, Territorial Cohesion and Water of the Canary Islands, Manuel Miranda, and the director general of Emergencies, Fernando Figuereo. They met with the firefighter consortia of Gran Canaria, Tenerife and Lanzarote, Civil Protection technicians from the autonomous Executive, and the Emergency and Security Coordination Centre (CECOES 112) to assess the provision of support to the Valencian Community.
In this regard, the councillor noted that from early last night, the director general of Emergencies, Fernando Figuereo, reached out to colleagues in the affected regions to extend the full aid of the autonomous community. He also contacted the director general of Civil Protection of the Home Office, Virginia Barcones, this morning, to offer further assistance.
Furthermore, the councillor conveyed the Government of the Canary Islands’ solidarity with all individuals impacted by this unfortunate calamity, as well as appreciation for the efforts of the emergency services during these challenging times.
In addition, Fernando Figuereo stated that the General Directorate has made one of the GES rescue helicopters available to the affected areas, along with two rescuers, a crane operator, a pilot, and a co-pilot. The helicopter has a capacity to carry twelve individuals and can arrive within a maximum timeframe of 72 hours. Several drone teams belonging to the firefighter consortia of Tenerife and Lanzarote, as well as the General Directorate of Emergencies, will support this operation.
The planned operation also considers the deployment of 63 personnel, with 30 drawn from the Forest Fire Intervention and Reinforcement Teams (EIRIF) of the autonomous Executive and 33 firefighter agents, of which twelve are on loan from the Large Emergency Consortium of Gran Canaria, seventeen from Tenerife, and four from Lanzarote. These teams will be tasked with ground and underwater search and rescue operations.
