Living in Peru : your everyday companion

(LIP-ir) -- Among all of the international aid Peru has received in its time of need, are "Los Topos" (The Moles) from Mexico.

After Peru suffered one of its worst natural disasters in years, it needed all the help it could get. Mexico offered "Los Topos", a special natural disaster rescue team.

The Mexican rescue team has denounced people in charge of rescue efforts, stating that they are not permitted to locate and extract dead bodies which remain in the debris in the city of Pisco.

22-year "Topos" veteran and rescue specialist, Edmundo Delgado, complained to press, "Our arms are folded, they won't let us work, it is very sad,"

In response, Peru's Fire Department Commander, Alberto Marticorena, stated that the "Topos" were a "wreckless" group. He added, "In all rescues there have to be security measures, they come in and don't respect these norms."

Arguments arose after the debris from Pisco's Embassy Hotel began to be removed. Due to the strong smell of putrefaction, it is believed that there is an undetermined number of bodies under the hotel. The first two floors of the 5-story hotel collapsed while guests were inside. The top 3 floors were seriously damaged.

Delagado accused Peru's firefighters of favoring hotel owners by allowing them to remove their belongings while the bodies remained under the hotel. "The firefighters don't know anything about rescue, and that's how they drive away those that come to help," stated Delgado.

Marticorena emphatically denied the accusations and stated that "the Mexicans enter without permission and work without helmets." Marticorena also stated that it was necessary to work as a team and coordinate a group effort.

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