Colombia on Sunday sent 9 metric tons of humanitarian aid and dozens of rescue workers to neighboring country Ecuador where and an M7.8 earthquake on Saturday killed more than 235 people.
The earthquake hit the northwest of Ecuador Saturday evening and was felt well into Colombian territory, fortunately without leaving victims.
One Colombian was killed in Ecuador, the Foreign Ministry said.
To help its neighbor, Colombia’s government did not just send emergency response aid, but also a plane with some 50 rescue workers and two specially-trained dogs to the disaster area.
President Juan Manuel Santos personally sent off the workers from the Catam military airport in the capital Bogota.
Another 24 rescue workers from the border Nariño province left for Ecuador earlier Sunday morning.
Both Ecuador and Colombia are frequently hit by earthquakes, but Saturday’s earthquake was the most devastating in Ecuador in decades.
