Deportees from U.S. feared caught in Venezuela quake rubble

A U.S. deportation flight carrying 146 Venezuelans landed hours before two powerful earthquakes hit Venezuela, and survivors told The Associated Press that some deportees were caught in the collapse of a hotel where they had been taken. Rescue crews have been searching the rubble in La Guaira, one of the areas hit hardest by the June 24 quakes, AP reported.

The flight from Miami arrived in Venezuela on the same day as the earthquakes, according to AP. ICE Flight Monitor, a Human Rights First initiative that tracks U.S. deportation flights, said the plane carried 146 Venezuelans, including 19 women and seven children.

Venezuela’s government has said the magnitude 7.2 and 7.5 earthquakes killed more than 1,700 people across the country. The quakes struck within a short span, according to accounts from survivors cited by AP.

Survivors describe escape from hotel

Lisbeth Portillo, one of the deportees, told AP she escaped the hotel rubble in La Guaira with about 20 other people. She said the group walked through the city looking for assistance after getting out.

Portillo told AP that as they moved through La Guaira, they saw people running through the streets, including some without clothes and others without shoes. She said the group walked about 5km before reaching a National Guard building, where they were able to contact relatives.

Portillo said she was on a hotel balcony when the first quake began. She described hearing the building shake and seeing women nearby fall as people screamed for help, according to AP. She said the second quake followed almost immediately.

“I was born again; God gave me a second chance,” Portillo told AP.

Another deportee, Jenny Rodriguez, told Telemundo that she had been on the same flight and was also taken to the hotel. She said she became trapped beneath debris before another person from the flight passed nearby.

“I was trapped under the rubble. A colleague who had been on the same flight came by. I managed to free my hand from the debris, grabbed him by the trousers, and begged for help,” Rodriguez told Telemundo. She said that person helped her get out.

Flight came amid stepped-up removals

A video posted on social media by Venezuela’s government showed deportees being received by Venezuelan authorities after their arrival at the Caracas airport, according to AP.

ICE Flight Monitor said it tracked 288 U.S. deportation flights to 38 countries in May as part of President Donald Trump’s mass deportation push. The destinations included Burkina Faso, Cambodia, Cameroon, Chile and Ivory Coast, according to the monitor.

The monitor said the United States operated 12 deportation flights to Venezuela in May. AP reported that U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement did not immediately respond to its request for information.

Many people who were on the Miami flight are now feared to be among those killed or injured in the earthquakes, AP reported.

This story draws on original reporting from Al Jazeera.