Key facts
- A survivor, Andreina Valerio, is searching for her son, partner, and in-laws trapped in a collapsed building after two major earthquakes in Venezuela.
- Rescue teams have arrived but have not yet been able to extract survivors from the specific building Valerio's family is trapped in.
- The earthquakes have caused widespread devastation, with over 1,400 buildings destroyed in La Guaira state alone.
- The official death toll has reached 1,430, with thousands more injured and tens of thousands reported missing.
- Venezuela appears unprepared for the scale of the disaster, with limited heavy machinery and difficulties accessing affected areas.
Andreina Valerio is desperately searching for her son, Santiago, her partner Ramsés Mendoza, and her partner's family who are trapped beneath the rubble of their apartment building following two devastating earthquakes in Venezuela. Valerio rushed back from work to find the building destroyed and has been camping outside the site, holding onto hope after hearing her son crying.
Rescue efforts are underway across the country, particularly in the heavily affected coastal region of La Guaira, where hundreds of buildings have been levelled. International rescue teams have arrived, but access to some areas is difficult due to damaged infrastructure. Families are digging through debris with their bare hands, their pleas for help often drowned out by the scale of the devastation.
Officials report over 1,400 buildings destroyed in La Guaira state, with the official death toll rising to 1,430 and thousands injured. However, tens of thousands are still missing, and emergency services are working around the clock. The country, which has faced years of crises, appears ill-equipped to handle the magnitude of this disaster, with limited heavy machinery and challenges in providing medical aid and supplies.
At a hospital in Caracas, doctors have treated hundreds of injured individuals, many suffering from fractures and severe trauma. The situation remains dire, with bodies being recovered by volunteers and injured individuals being transported on motorbikes due to blocked roads and damaged bridges. Relatives are staying near the rubble sites, fearing that government-imposed travel restrictions could make their homes inaccessible.