Rescuers race to find survivors after Venezuela earthquakes, thousands missing

In La Guaira, rescuers kept falling silent whenever a possible cry rose from the wreckage, listening for the faintest sign of life beneath slabs of shattered concrete and twisted iron. Five days after twin earthquakes of magnitude 7.2 and 7.5 struck Venezuela less than a minute apart on Wednesday, June 24, crews were still digging through unstable debris in the northern coastal state and nearby areas.

The toll had climbed to at least 1,450 dead, at least 3,200 injured, and more than 770 buildings partially or completely destroyed. Tens of thousands of people remained missing as families searched databases and online missing-person lists while aftershocks kept the ruins and the streets on edge. The first 48 to 72 hours after a major quake are the critical window for finding survivors, though that window can stretch if trapped people still have food and water.

The Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs had coordinated relief from 27 countries, with more than 2,200 rescuers and 140 search dogs deployed. Three UN field hospitals were operating in La Guaira. UNICEF put the number of people needing humanitarian assistance at 1.8 million, including 680,000 children, while the International Organization for Migration warned that as many as 6.76 million people could be affected. Tom Fletcher, the UN emergency relief chief, called an estimate of 50,000 people still missing “terrifyingly plausible.”

Survivors kept coming out of the rubble even as the odds worsened. At least 33 people were rescued over the weekend, including a mother and her 9-month-old baby, an infant, and two 11-year-old boys. Later, French and U.S. rescue workers pulled a father and son alive from beneath the debris in La Guaira after four days trapped underground, using specialized search cameras as they worked through concrete, iron and dust.

Rescue teams from the U.S., France, Mexico, Argentina, Colombia and Italy joined the effort, alongside French Civil Security and Italian firefighters. Interim President Delcy Rodríguez said more than 14,000 military and police personnel were patrolling the area, with access blocked and special permits required to enter, while civilians and families kept searching in La Guaira, Catia La Mar, Caracas, Caraballeda and around the Port of La Guaira with shovels, ropes and bare hands.