Rescue Teams Overwhelmed in Search for Survivors After Devastating Venezuela Earthquakes

Rescue efforts are continuing in Venezuela after twin earthquakes struck the country on Wednesday afternoon. Search and rescue teams, local residents, and family members are searching for and evacuating people trapped among buildings that collapsed due to the two quakes, which measured magnitude 7.2 and 7.5. “The rescue teams are overwhelmed. They are pulling people out with their nails and teeth,” student Antoan Marn told BBC Mundo from Caracas. “They don’t have special equipment,” he added. “We lack aid.”

Videos posted on social media show several residential and commercial buildings completely collapsed, particularly in Caracas and La Guaira. In La Guaira, residents reported on social media that rescue teams had not yet arrived and dozens of people remained trapped under the rubble of buildings due to a lack of resources. Official figures state that at least 235 people have died and more than 4,300 are injured, but the death toll is feared to be much higher. The earthquakes occurred just 39 seconds apart along a geological fault line, increasing their deadly impact.

Venezuelan journalist Roman Camacho published heartbreaking photos and videos from La Guaira recorded on Thursday morning. The images showed several people trapped under debris in an area that rescue teams had not yet reached. One video showed a young man, identified as Amir Infante, drinking water with the lower part of his body crushed by concrete fragments. “There is no heavy machinery, no equipment needed to move the rubble,” Camacho explained in his video. “There is a family trapped under the rubble.” Hours later, Camacho posted that Amir’s mother had confirmed her son had died. A few metres from the site, a young man shouted “Jesus!” as he walked through the ruins searching for survivors. “There are three people alive here,” he said, pointing. He asked through a small hole, “What’s your name?” A barely audible voice replied, “Anthony.” With tears in his eyes, the young man shouted back, “Brother, talk to me.” According to the journalist, firefighters and paramedics were “helpless”.

Despite the efforts, disrupted telecommunications networks and a lack of resources complicated the initial emergency response. However, as time passed, rescue teams moved more quickly to the most critical areas. Local television stations broadcast not only testimonies from people desperately searching for their families but also moving images of survivors being rescued alive, offering hope to a grieving nation. “God is great!” a man’s voice was heard shouting as a baby was rescued alive from the rubble, according to footage broadcast by Noticias en Red. Another hopeful case was the rescue of three siblings in La Guaira, who emerged from the debris with their faces covered in dust, according to state television and social media footage. “Come here, son, come here,” a man said to the first child who emerged alive from a gap in the collapsed concrete. A girl then came out, and the man asked, “Are you siblings?” to which she replied, “Yes, we are three.” Shortly after, with more difficulty, the third child emerged sobbing and completely covered in dust. It is feared that hundreds of people remain alive and trapped under the rubble.