Rescue operation brings 19 Ukrainians to relatives and friends in Torrevieja

THE caravan of nine firefighters who set out with humanitarian aid for Ukraine  arrived back in Torrevieja on March 12.

Nor did they return with empty vehicles, because they brought back from the war-torn nation 19 Ukrainians who had relatives and friends waiting for them in Torrevieja.

The rescue operation was the result of collaboration between the Provincial Consortium of Fire Brigades and the Ukrainian Association of Torrevieja, explained the town’s mayor Eduardo Dolon, who was waiting to greet the arrivals together with the president of the Diputacion provincial council, Carlos Mazon.

The convoy had set out on March 8, reaching Medyka in south-eastern Poland, on the Ukraine border, where they unloaded the Alicante province supplies.

The firefighters then went on to collect 15 women and children from the Medyka refugee centre, plus another five people from a nearby town, and drove them to Warsaw.

Here they picked up 27 Ukrainians, 19 of whom were heading for Torrevieja although eight others were bound for Barcelona and Valencia.

When the four vehicles reached Torrevieja’s fire station at 1.30pm, Mazon and Dolon accompanied the anxious group waiting for their family members and friends.

Both politicians expressed their pride and admiration for the nine men who had enabled 27 people to escape the from savage devastation of their country.

But the last word went to one of the firefighters, Israel Seva:  “There is still so much to do, but we shall continue doing whatever we can to help.”