The queue was huge in front of the gigantic concert hall where the Venezuelan government started to issue, starting this Saturday (27), safe conducts for volunteers seeking to enter the area hardest hit by this week’s double earthquake.
The chaos mixed impotence, indignation and misinformation, AFP found.
“You have to get a permit to save lives, imagine that,” complained rescuer Carlos Itriago, 27 years old.
The resort of La Guaira is the place hardest hit by the tragedy. Hundreds of buildings were reduced to rubble by the 7.2 and 7.5 magnitude earthquakes that shook the country on Wednesday.
The official death toll exceeds 1,400, and the United Nations estimates that 50,000 people are missing.
Time is precious to find survivors under the rubble.
As soon as the tremors stopped, hundreds of volunteers went to La Guaira to bring water and food and try to help in some way.
There were so many that the scene became chaotic. A river of motorcycles blocked the passage of ambulances transporting the injured to hospitals.
The government militarized the state and restricted access to the region from Friday night.
It also opened a register for volunteers and started requiring authorization to enter. The authorization is issued at the Poliedro de Caracas, a huge concert arena.
The press will only be able to enter this area on government buses, available twice a day.
“We’re trying to get through. The priority should be for us, the rescuers, the doctors, but they’re not letting anyone in.”
The slowness of the process irritated people in line, who shouted asking to be allowed to enter. The police tried to control the disorder.
“We all want to collaborate, we all want to go,” said Luis Toro, 56 years old. “And they make us waste the whole morning,” protested Samuel Rodríguez, 24, who was carrying a shovel and a Venezuelan flag tied around his neck.
“I’ve been here since dawn in line to rescue people and we still can’t get out,” said Ezequiel Rivero, 53 years old. “Look what time it is… How many lives have we lost so far?”, he lamented.
The president of the National Assembly, Jorge Rodríguez, one of the official spokesmen during the tragedy, insisted that volunteers must go to the region “in an organized manner”.
He reported that 2,242 volunteer rescuers have already been registered and stated that around 30,000 Venezuelan specialists are working to respond to the emergency.
Furthermore, according to Rodríguez, more than 2,200 rescuers from 21 international brigades also participate in the operations.
