Sany Launches Emergency Rescue Operations After Powerful Magnitude 7+ Earthquake Hits Venezuela
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A devastating earthquake with a magnitude exceeding 7.0 jolted north-central Venezuela on the local time of June 24, triggering widespread structural collapse, casualties, and severe property losses across multiple densely populated regions including Caracas, La Guaira, and Carabobo. The powerful seismic strike, accompanied by continuous aftershocks, plunged local communities into an acute humanitarian crisis, overwhelming Venezuela’s indigenous emergency response capabilities and leaving numerous disaster-stricken areas in urgent need of professional rescue support. Upon receiving the Venezuelan government’s request for external assistance, Sany Heavy Industry, together with multiple Chinese-funded enterprises stationed in Venezuela, launched an immediate and spontaneous emergency response. Quickly mobilizing on-site resources and uniting local Chinese business communities, the joint rescue team rushed deep into the core disaster zones to carry out intensive search, rescue and disaster relief operations, demonstrating the rapid response capability and social responsibility of Chinese enterprises overseas.
Recalling the terrifying night of the earthquake, Xie Zhiyi, Chairman of Sany Latin America Colombia Region, still feels lingering fear. The violent tremors struck suddenly, catching local residents and overseas enterprise staff completely off guard. Faced with the sudden major disaster, Xie Zhiyi prioritized rescue work above all else and launched an emergency deployment without delay. Located near the earthquake’s epicenter in Caracas, he raced against time to mobilize all available Sany engineering equipment and on-site professional personnel within the shortest timeframe. From receiving the emergency notice from higher management to finalizing the full deployment of rescue forces and equipment, the entire efficient operation was completed within a single night, reflecting the outstanding emergency execution and mission-oriented spirit of the Sany overseas team.
Early in the morning of local time June 25, merely hours after the overnight emergency preparation, two units of professional Sany engineering equipment were officially put into high-intensity rescue missions in the worst-hit disaster areas, becoming core mechanical forces to break through rescue bottlenecks. To strengthen rescue capacity and form a coordinated operational system, Xie Zhiyi actively contacted Jiang Wangbing, President of the China-Venezuela Chamber of Commerce and Industry, who previously served as Sany’s local person-in-charge in Venezuela. Having long been familiar with local site conditions and emergency rescue demands, Jiang Wangbing did not hesitate to join the relief effort at the first request. He promptly coordinated two local enterprises to integrate manpower, machinery and material resources, successfully assembling a robust joint rescue force for collaborative disaster relief.
“We set off at 6 o’clock in the early morning to rush to the core disaster zones,” Jiang Wangbing recalled the intense rescue scene. Most local residential and public buildings in the affected areas adopt reinforced concrete structures. The collapsed concrete ruins were thick and heavy, requiring professional cutting technology and precise crane hoisting operations to clear obstacles and search for survivors. Worse still, the disaster areas faced an extreme shortage of professional rescue personnel and large engineering machinery. The local emergency rescue equipment was mainly limited to small truck-mounted cranes, whose boom length, lifting weight and operational stability were far below the safety and efficiency standards required for large-scale post-earthquake rescue. The lack of high-performance professional equipment had severely restricted local rescue progress, making the participation of Sany’s advanced engineering machinery extremely critical.
To ensure real-time information sharing and efficient coordinated rescue, Jiang Wangbing continuously updated on-site disaster conditions, rescue progress and operational difficulties in the working group throughout the day, allowing Xie Zhiyi and the rear command team to grasp the latest frontline dynamics at the first time and adjust deployment strategies timely. Both frontline rescuers and rear coordinators maintained an efficient linkage mechanism to maximize rescue efficiency. Xie Zhiyi frankly stated that earthquake rescue and subsequent post-disaster reconstruction are long-term, arduous and complex systematic projects, rather than short-term emergency operations. The spontaneously assembled joint rescue team bears the responsibility of protecting the lives and property of overseas Chinese compatriots, as well as the mission of assisting local people in overcoming disasters and rebuilding their homes.
Facing the sprawling disaster zones and severe damage, the rescue team adhered to the life-first principle and adopted a scientific and efficient search-and-rescue strategy. “We have mobilized all usable equipment and invested all available manpower into the frontline relief work,” Xie Zhiyi introduced. The team adopted a progressive sweeping operation mode: upon arriving at each affected site, they would conduct careful inspections and professional searches for survivors. Once trapped survivors were detected, they would immediately suspend advancement and launch all-out rescue efforts with precise mechanical operation and manual rescue collaboration. For sites with no visible signs of surviving trapped people after thorough investigation, the team would quickly move to the next severely affected area to continue the rescue mission, striving to cover all disaster-stricken regions and save more lives within the golden rescue window.
In this sudden natural disaster, Sany and other Chinese-funded enterprises have interpreted the responsibility and warmth of Chinese enterprises with practical actions. Different from formal international rescue teams, this spontaneous civilian joint rescue force responded faster, adapted more flexibly to local complex terrain and ruin conditions, and made up for the shortage of local professional rescue equipment and technical capabilities. While fulfilling social responsibilities overseas, they have also built a bridge of friendship and mutual assistance between China and Venezuela, winning wide recognition from local government and residents. As the disaster relief work continues to advance steadily, the joint rescue team will continue to stick to their post, fully support subsequent rescue follow-up work and post-disaster reconstruction, and contribute sustained strength to helping local communities restore normal production and life order at an early date.