Star Metro - Aid planes landing at partially reopened Venezuela airport after quakes

"I'm really pleased to announce that this morning Simon Bolivar Airport, one of the runways, is operational again and is landing C-17s," Jeremy Lewin said of the country's main international airport serving the capital Caracas. C-17 refers to a type of US military transport plane.

"As we got the airport open, we have mobile hospitals coming in today, they're going to be able to hopefully land at Simon Bolivar."

Samaritan's Purse, a US-based Christian aid group, said it was sending a Boeing 767 with "an Emergency Field Hospital" to the country.

Later, in a post on X Saturday afternoon, the State Department quoted Lewin as saying the plane had landed at the airport.

International Medical Corps spokesperson Todd Bernhardt told AFP that it was "deploying mobile medical units," and that it has "field hospitals ready to deploy if needed."

The group said it would begin trucking clean water into the hard hit La Guaira area.

The death toll from Wednesday's twin earthquakes currently stands at more than 1,400, with tens of thousands feared missing.

In a call with reporters early on Saturday, a senior US administration official said the USS Fort Lauderdale, an amphibious military ship, was now in position off the Venezuelan coast, which would allow for more rescue flights around the badly hit city of La Guaira.

"We're able to airlift people to use the medical facilities, as necessary, on that vessel, and to use it to do command and control and logistics, and to use their airlift," the official said. "So we're going to see an increase in our capability to be using rotor aircraft."

The official said that the United States had already released some $150 million in aid, and that the official was expecting "another additional package...of nine figures" to be announced in the coming days.

One of the airport runways "is completely cracked and inoperable," the official said.

The US military would be "helping to coordinate flights in the tower," the official said, noting that the airport has "been very congested...really owing to how many international elements and humanitarian groups are trying to respond to this disaster."

US Southern Command said that that five US Air Force C-17 cargo planes were scheduled to fly into Venezuela to bring crews to assist with further reopening and managing of the airport.

The military command also said that another C-17 would transport two Miami-based search and rescue crews into the country, while a number of other aircraft -- including helicopters -- were also moving into the region to provide support.

The US Space Force, the command said, was providing satellite imagery and analysis to assist in the planning of relief efforts.

The twin earthquakes of magnitude 7.2 and 7.5 were the strongest to hit the country since 1900.

D.Ch. Nadeau--SMC