Los Angeles rescuers join Venezuela earthquake search
Crews from Los Angeles County are helping international teams look for survivors after quakes that Venezuelan authorities say killed at least 2,295 people.
By Lucas Ferreira · Science & Environment Writer
3 min read
Los Angeles County firefighters have joined rescue crews in Venezuela, where teams are still searching collapsed buildings more than a week after deadly earthquakes hit the country. Venezuelan authorities say at least 2,295 people were killed, while the International Rescue Committee has said about 50,000 people remain missing.
NPR reported that the Los Angeles County Fire Department team was working Tuesday on a collapsed 12-story building in Caraballeda, a coastal town in La Guaira state. Venezuelan volunteers, including relatives of three teenage girls believed to be trapped inside, were helping remove debris.
The U.S. team brought search dogs, jackhammers, electric saws, ladders, sonar gear and listening devices, according to NPR. Capt. Michael Toepfer of the Los Angeles County Fire Department told NPR the team had been listening for taps or knocks from people under the rubble and had received a confirmation about an hour before he spoke.
Rescuers often view the first 24 to 72 hours after a collapse as the best chance to find survivors. Nichole Bosson, a doctor with the Los Angeles team, told NPR people can live longer in some conditions, including if they have access to food and water. She pointed to a prior U.S. aid team rescue of a 14-year-old boy in Nepal after five days.
The search in Caraballeda was complicated by the building’s condition. NPR reported that the girls had been in apartment 908, three floors below the roof, and that the building was part of a public housing project known for poor construction. After the June 24 quakes, the structure pancaked, and broken concrete exposed white Styrofoam mixed into the material.
NPR reported that another building struck and twisted the structure during the quakes, making it difficult for rescuers to determine which layers were floors or ceilings. Daniel Altruz, another Los Angeles firefighter, told NPR the team still heard tapping but had trouble locating the person.
Khaterine Roa, the mother of the three girls, climbed onto the roof to help direct rescuers toward the apartment, NPR reported. She said Venezuelan authorities had largely been absent and expressed gratitude for the U.S. effort, while saying she hoped her daughters were alive.
NPR later reported that the tapping stopped sometime after midnight and that the effort at that site would shift toward recovering the girls’ bodies.
The Los Angeles firefighters arrived Monday as part of the U.S. State Department’s disaster response, NPR reported. At a Wednesday news conference, John Barrett, the chargé d’affaires at the U.S. Embassy in Caracas, said U.S. assistance totaled about $300 million and included search-and-rescue teams, airlift and logistics support, shelter, water and sanitation supplies.
International teams from several countries, including Switzerland, Syria, Chile, Mexico and Jordan, have also taken part in the response, according to NPR. A Jordanian search team rescued a 2-year-old boy Tuesday after six days under rubble, and the State Department said rescuers from Los Angeles County, Miami and other countries later pulled another survivor to safety.
The disaster is also testing Washington’s role in Venezuela. Orlando Pérez, a Latin America expert at the University of North Texas at Dallas, told NPR that the closure last year of the U.S. Agency for International Development raises questions about the U.S. government’s ability to sustain a long-term response.
This story draws on original reporting from NPR.