▲ Members of 'Topos Azteca' conducting rescue operations at a major earthquake site in Colombia
Members of "Topos Azteca" (hereafter Topos), a Mexican volunteer rescue team that has traveled to disaster sites around the world for some 40 years, are carrying out desperate rescue operations at the site of a major earthquake in Colombia.
According to the U.S. daily The New York Times (NYT) on the 13th (local time), Topos members previously spent 40 days rescuing survivors and recovering bodies in La Guaira, the hardest-hit area of a major earthquake in Venezuela.
Following a magnitude 7.4 earthquake that struck Colombia on the 10th, they headed to Cali, Colombia's third-largest city.
As the 72-hour "golden time"—widely considered the critical window to rescue survivors—has passed, team members are fighting to save even one more life.
Alex Rodriguez, a rescue worker at the site, told the NYT, "In La Guaira (Venezuela), we ended up just recovering bodies toward the end of the rescue operation," adding, "But here right now, we are fighting against time and making desperate efforts to find signs of life."
Residents in Cali, one of the areas hardest hit by the earthquake, immediately recognized the Topos members wearing orange uniforms.
Residents expressed their gratitude to Hector Mendez, the founder and leader of Topos who oversees the rescue operations, and took photos together amid the debris.
A video released by the Cali mayor's office also captured footage of leader Mendez.
Topos is a veteran volunteer rescue team formed in the wake of the devastating 1985 earthquake that struck Mexico City and claimed the lives of some 10,000 people, operating worldwide for about 40 years.
The rescue team has rushed to disaster sites around the globe, ranging from the major earthquake in Türkiye and the war in Ukraine to the 9/11 terrorist attacks in the United States in 2001.
Team members go through high-intensity training courses.
They train in first aid, rope techniques, towing and rescue techniques, structural stabilization, and disaster simulation, and must first participate in domestic disaster sites before being deployed overseas.
There are about 250 to 300 members at the Mexico headquarters, and about 20 members were dispatched to the site of the recent Colombia earthquake.
After overseas missions conclude, Topos also works to discover and train local volunteers so that the respective countries can prepare for future disasters on their own.
While some members hold qualifications as firefighters or emergency medical technicians, many have primary jobs unrelated to disaster response.
All of them are volunteers, and a significant number operate at their own expense.
Miguel Garcia, a team member who runs a Chinese medicine-related business with his spouse, described rescue work as his hobby.
He joined Topos following his father, a veteran rescue worker who taught him first aid and firefighting skills when he was young.
Garcia told the NYT, "A diverse group of people have gathered, ranging from neighborhood bus drivers to people selling sandwiches in the subway."
He also said, "The uncertainty of not knowing whether we will be able to safely escape from a collapsed structure creates a deep sense of camaraderie among those working together," adding, "We have a mission to serve."
(Photo: AP, Yonhap News)
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