Acting President Delcy Rodríguez, who came to power after her predecessor Maduro was detained by White House chief Donald Trump’s administration, shared footage of rescuers pulling a man from the rubble after a 43-hour search.
“Every life saved is a victory for hope,” she wrote on the X social network.
Hope does not die down
Such positive moments are rather rare in the epicenter of earthquakes. 43,000 people are still missing. This follows from data on the aftermath of the Venezuelan earthquakes. Rescue services expect that the number of people who manage to be pulled alive from the rubble will decrease as time goes on. The best chance of survival is within 48 to 72 hours.
Even so, the families of the missing remain near the ruins and try to help with their own efforts. Deilisbeth Herreir is looking for her 12 and 13-year-old daughters – Greydelys and Graybelys. He frantically combs through the lists of the dead and wounded at the local hospital. She was at work at the time of the earthquake and only assumes that her daughters were at home. “I don’t have any help from anyone. They didn’t send any machines or rescuers to search the wreckage. It’s like they leave you to find your loved ones on your own,” he tells the BBC.
At the scene of the tragedy, those present complain of a strong smell coming from the bodies of the victims who were not extricated. The voices of the living calling for help also echo through the space. Juan Avendo described to the BBC how he and his nephew freed the screaming woman from the rubble: “We heard her wailing at night. But it was dark and we couldn’t do anything. We went to look for her in the morning. First we managed to give her a bottle of water. Then we did everything to free her from there.”
Deportees from the US
Venezuelans have been one of the main targets of the Trump administration’s tough immigration measures. More than a hundred of them, who were deported from the USA, were in one of the local hotels at the time of the earthquake. Many of them are currently missing, the portal pointed out.
According to data from the ICE Flight Monitor project, there were 146 Venezuelans on board the flight from Miami, including 19 women and seven children. Upon arrival, they were transferred to a hotel in the city of La Guaira.
Lisbeth Portilová stated that she managed to escape from the ruins of the hotel together with about twenty other deportees. Together they looked for help on the street. They saw other people running from the rubble of the collapsed building. Some were completely naked and barefoot.
On the other hand, the US has pledged more than $300 million in financial aid to Venezuela to deal with the consequences of the earthquake, the US State Department announced on Monday. The AFP agency emphasizes that this is approximately double the package originally promised.
