Venezuela rescuers find survivors as quake search window narrows
Officials reported late rescues after twin earthquakes killed at least 1,430 people and left more than 50,000 missing.
By James Whitfield · Staff Writer
3 min read
Rescue crews in Venezuela reported several late saves on Sunday, four days after two powerful earthquakes struck near the coast and left thousands unaccounted for. Officials had said the first 72 hours were the key period for finding people alive, and that window passed late Saturday.
Venezuelan officials did not issue a new death toll on Sunday, according to Al Jazeera and Reuters. Authorities said Saturday that 1,430 people had been confirmed dead after magnitude 7.2 and 7.5 earthquakes hit near the La Guaira coastal area on Wednesday.
More than 50,000 people have been reported missing, according to the officials cited by Al Jazeera and Reuters. Rescue teams continued to work through collapsed buildings as foreign crews joined local responders across affected areas.
Late rescues reported
El Salvador’s President Nayib Bukele said on X that rescue teams from El Salvador and Peru spent 11 hours freeing a 60-year-old woman from rubble in Carabayida. Bukele said she had been trapped for 86 hours and was taken to a hospital in Caracas, where her condition was described as delicate.
The Associated Press reported that a rescue team from Virginia in the United States pulled a man and his son from debris on Sunday morning and carried them on a black tarpaulin to an ambulance. U.S. officials also said late Saturday that an infant had been found alive in a collapsed building, while Colombian and Mexican officials reported rescuing two 11-year-old boys in separate operations.
Interim President Delcy Rodriguez said Sunday that at least 33 people had been rescued over the weekend, according to Al Jazeera and Reuters. The United Nations said 2,200 members of foreign rescue teams were working in Venezuela.
Access limits and criticism
Rodriguez said more than 14,000 military and police personnel were patrolling La Guaira state, where access had been blocked and permits were required to enter, according to Al Jazeera and Reuters. The restrictions came as criticism of the government response increased.
The Associated Press reported that residents at one collapsed building stopped an excavator from leaving and pulled its operator from the cabin after state workers took selfies in front of destroyed buildings and left without helping.
Al Jazeera correspondent Noris Soto reported from the Los Palos Grandes neighborhood of Caracas that a Mexican rescue team was still searching for survivors while volunteers gathered belongings from the wreckage. Soto said at least 20 people remained under the rubble at that site and that international rescuers and civilian volunteers were carrying out the work there.
In Catia La Mar in La Guaira, Al Jazeera correspondent Teresa Bo reported that families had marked collapsed homes where they were still waiting for relatives’ bodies to be recovered. Bo said aid deliveries, including water and food, had only begun reaching the hard-hit area, where many residents were sleeping outdoors.
International aid expands
Washington has sent rescue teams and pledged $150 million to support the United Nations and other humanitarian groups responding to the disaster, according to Al Jazeera and Reuters.
European Union foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said Sunday that the bloc had mobilized five million euros, or $5.7 million, in emergency assistance. Kallas said the EU’s Copernicus satellite system was being used to map damage and help direct aid.
Pope Leo, speaking to worshippers in Rome on Saturday, offered prayers for those killed and thanked people working in search and rescue efforts, according to Al Jazeera and Reuters.
This story draws on original reporting from Al Jazeera.