Scene from earthquake in Cuernavaca, Morelos state, Mexico, Sept. 19, 2017. (AP/Tony Rivera)

On the eve of Rosh Hashana, following a massive earthquake that claimed 248 lives, a 50-member IDF team is on its way to Mexico with a planeload of equipment. Israeli emergency volunteers are also at the scene.

Mexico suffered its deadliest earthquake in decades Tuesday evening. The number of confirmed fatalities has climbed to 248.

Following a request for help, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu ordered that assistance and a search and rescue operation be organized and leave for Mexico as soon as possible, the Prime Minister’s Office stated.

A 50-member team of the IDF Search and Rescue Unit, together with a planeload of equipment, departed early Wednesday afternoon.

Coincidentally, also on Tuesday evening, Netanyahu delivered a speech at the United Nations General Assembly, stressing Israel’s cutting-edge technology and innovation that helps people around the world, include cases of natural disaster.

Netanyahu at UN: ‘We Have Saved Countless Lives’

“We’re in the midst of a great revolution, a revolution in Israel’s standing among the nations,” the prime minister stated. “This is happening because so many countries around the world have finally woken up to what Israel can do for them… that Israel is the innovation nation – the place for cutting-edge technology in agriculture, in water, in cyber security, in medicine, in autonomous vehicles – you name it, we’ve got it.”

“We have saved countless lives,” Netanyahu stated.

ZAKA, Israel’s primary rescue and recovery volunteer organization, is also at the scene with hundreds of emergency ambulance-bikes, providing first aid.

“It is impossible to describe the scope of the disaster,” said ZAKA Mexico commander Marcus Cain. “Millions of people are without power, there is great confusion and distress. We are currently searching for a missing Jewish resident and helping the local rescue forces evacuate the bodies and locate and rescue survivors in the disaster area.”

[yatar]