A Vancouver paramedic has dropped everything to go and help his fellow countrymen, following the deadly earthquake in Mexico on Tuesday.
As soon as David Cavazos heard about the 7.1 magnitude earthquake, he boarded the first flight to his old home.
“I was born and raised in Mexico City. My family is here. Most of my friends are here. So yes, that played a role, but I’m always looking for opportunities to go and offer my services to wherever it’s needed,” said Cavazos.
His brother-in-law, Diego Hernandez, said Cavazos used to work as a paramedic in Mexico, before moving to B.C.
“He is highly trained and of course he knew he could make a difference both in organization with the people he has worked with before and with the actual emergency services for people who are getting pulled out of the rubble.”
Hernandez said everyone was looking for a way to help, so Cavazos decided his skills would be the most useful.
“He got whatever supplies he could get his hands on and got on the first plane he could find for Mexico.”
The family has set up a GoFundMe page collecting donations to send search and rescue volunteers from Vancouver to help local crews, and also to buy supplies for those affected by the disaster.
Mexican authorities have raised the death toll to nearly 300 since Tuesday’s earthquake. More than half of those who died were in Mexico City.