Two dead rescue workers honored by the state
The funeral of two Red Cross rescue workers, killed in a landslide in Quebrada Ancha, Colóntook place on Saturday, December 1
President Ricard Matinelli attended the mass in Magarita, and after paying tribute to the two men, both with long service records, announced that they would both be posthumously awarded the Order of Belisario Porras. He was accompanied by First Lady Marta Linares, several Ministers and senior Red Cross Officials from Central America and Mexico.
It had taken rescue teams from Panama, Colombia, Costa Rica and Mexico 84 hours to recover the vehicle containing the bodies of Jorge Arosemena and Fernando Johnson
Arosemana had 37 years of service and was coordinator of the Risk Management Department, while Johnson had 30 years of service and was the national director of volunteers.
Their pickup truck was swept away in a land slide the previous Sunday, but It was not until Friday at 8:45 am that a shovel touched the vehicle. The hydraulic “jaws of life” were needed before the bodies could be removed and identified.
The Chief Operating Officer of the Red Cross in Colon, Joseph Chong, said the discovery was made ??at 23 feet deep on the level of the street suffered slippage. , Mark Franco, national relief coordinator of the Mexican Red Cross, said the example of Arosemana and Johnson shows that "in this profession we are at risk and we do it gladly." The search mission involved 42 members of the National Border Service and 80 Panamanian Red Cross volunteers. The team was aided by six rescuers from Mexico, and six from, Colombia and Costa Rica.
The president said that both of the deceased were examples for the country, to follow because they were dedicated to saving lives. And he promised that the necessary aid will be given to their families.
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