Havana, April 28 (RHC)-- The search and rescue team that Cuba sent to Ecuador in the wake of the 7.8-magnitude earthquake, which hit the country’s northern coast on April 16, returned to the country Wednesday evening.

The team was received at Havana’s José Martí International Airport by Deputy Public Health Minister Marcia Cobas and by General José Luis Mesa Silva, of Cuba’s Interior Ministry, the MININT.

The group, made up of 29 search and rescue workers, traveled to Ecuador where they helped with recovery efforts over 10 days, together with health professionals from Cuba's Henry Reeve International Contingent of Doctors Specialized in Disaster Situations and Large-Scale Epidemics.

Cobas noted that the brigade’s work in Ecuador was short but intense; highlighting the team’s rigorous and disciplined efforts.

Colonel Lázaro Herrera Hernández, head of the search and rescue team, expressed satisfaction at returning home after fulfilling their mission. He spoke about the moving scenes the Cuban rescue experts  witnessed and experienced in Ecuador, something they said they will never forget.