Two dead rescue workers honored by the state

The funeral of two Red Cross rescue workers, killed in a landslide in Quebrada Ancha, Colón took  place  on Saturday, December 1

President Ricard Matinelli  attended the mass  in  Magarita, and  after paying tribute to the two men, both  with long service records, announced that they would both be posthumously awarded the  Order of Belisario Porras. He was accompanied by First Lady Marta Linares, several Ministers and senior Red Cross Officials from Central America and Mexico.

It had taken rescue teams from Panama, Colombia, Costa Rica and Mexico  84 hours to recover the vehicle  containing the bodies of Jorge Arosemena and Fernando Johnson

 Arosemana  had 37 years of service and was coordinator of the Risk Management Department, while Johnson had 30 years of service and was the national director of volunteers.

Their pickup truck  was swept away in a land slide  the previous Sunday, but  It was not until Friday at 8:45 am that a shovel touched the vehicle. The hydraulic “jaws of life” were needed before  the bodies could be removed and identified.

The  Chief Operating Officer of the Red Cross in Colon, Joseph Chong, said the discovery was made ??at 23 feet deep on the level of the street suffered slippage. , Mark Franco, national relief coordinator of the  Mexican Red Cross, said the example of Arosemana  and Johnson shows that "in this profession we are at  risk and we do it gladly." The search mission involved 42 members of the National Border Service and 80 Panamanian Red Cross volunteers. The team was aided  by six rescuers from Mexico, and six from, Colombia  and Costa Rica.

The president said that both of the deceased were  examples for the country, to follow  because they were dedicated to saving lives. And he  promised that the necessary aid  will be given to their families.