The partnership of the Government of Tocantins to assist Rio Grande do Sul in the environmental tragedy that affects the state of Rio Grande do Sul gained strength with the arrival of more military firefighters from Tocantins this Wednesday, 8th, in Bento Gonçalves, about 115 km from Porto Alegre . The team left Palmas on the afternoon of last Sunday, the 5th, taking two vehicles and two jet skis that are already being used in the operation to support the people of Rio Grande do Sul, who have been suffering for days with rain, floods and landslides.
With the new staff, there are now ten military firefighters from Tocantins employed in the mission, fulfilling the determination of Governor Wanderlei Barbosa, in solidarity with the state of Rio Grande do Sul, where 100 deaths have already been confirmed by the authorities and 130 people are missing in the affected cities .
The general commander of the Tocantins Military Fire Brigade (CBMTO), Colonel Peterson Queiroz de Ornelas, stated that the Tocantins teams are highly competent. “Our military firefighters are very experienced in search operations and we are sure they will do their best wherever they are; and knowing this, Governor Wanderlei Barbosa ordered the Tocantins Military Fire Department to send a team to support Rio Grande do Sul, due to the capacity of our valuable firefighters who will greatly contribute to the actions”.
From Bento Gonçalves, firefighters traveled to the city of Canoas, located in the metropolitan region of the Capital, where the command of the search and rescue operation for the victims of the tragedy is concentrated.
“With the arrival of this new team specialized in the area of public safety diving, the CBMTO reinforces its presence and capacity to help our brothers in Rio Grande do Sul. The disaster scenario is very dynamic and, as a result, our divers, who , initially, they were mobilized to the municipality of Encantado, now they are heading to Canoas, where, according to information from the Crisis Management Office, they will have to search inside flooded residences looking for possible victims. This is an extremely risky operation, as we do not know the level of structural compromise of these buildings, in addition to being a search in confined spaces”, informed Lieutenant Colonel Donaldo Mourinho de Oliveira, commander of the mission in Rio Grande do Sul. South.
Five military firefighters from Tocantins have already been in Bento Gonçalves since last Monday, the 6th. The team is reinforced by two dogs certified for searches in collapsed areas, Sky and Dory, who, in their first action, found two bodies of victims buried in the rubble of a residence hit by a landslide in the District of Faria Lemos.
