With the number of people from the double earthquake of 7.2 and 7.5 Richter rising every hour that passes, the country’s rescue crews, but also ordinary citizens who help in the operations and , are trying to locate survivors, friends, family members, acquaintances, neighbors under tons of building materials in the flattened neighborhoods around Caracas.
So far, the official toll has reached 920 dead and around 4,000 injured, while over 49,600 people have been reported missing. Authorities fear that the number of victims will increase exponentially and dramatically in the coming hours and days. According to estimates by the United States Geological Survey (USGS), in the most pessimistic version the number of dead could exceed 10,000.
🇻🇪 | URGENT – DISASTER IN VENEZUELA: Rescue teams continue to find people alive during the night of this Thursday in La Guaira and Caracas.
— Alerta News 24 (@AlertNews24)
The greatest destruction is recorded in the northern regions of the country, near the capital Caracas, with the coastal state of La Guaira having received the strongest blow. There, entire blocks of apartment buildings have collapsed, while according to the UN humanitarian agency (OCHA), more than 100 buildings have been destroyed in the area of La Guaira alone. Among them are the large apartment building Ritasol Palace and the seaside hotel Eduard’s Hotel.
Stories of survival and stories of despair coexist in Venezuela
Throughout the night, rescuers and ordinary citizens, even using their bare hands and flashlights, searched for those trapped in the wreckage. Shocking images also unfolded on Thursday, when people were pulled out alive, covered in dust and blood. However, according to accounts, government rescue crews were initially few outside the Caracas area.
🇻🇪🚨I Shocking images show how a man was rescued from the rubble after the earthquakes that hit Venezuela. God bless the rescuers and volunteers who are giving everything to save lives. 🙏🏻
— Eduardo Menoni (@eduardomenoni)
Characteristic is the testimony of Jamileth Jimenez from La Guaira, who told Reuters that her 19-year-old son remains trapped in the ruins of the seven-story apartment building where they lived. “He’s under the slabs and there’s no machine to get him out,” he said.
🚨🆘‼️“If you save a single life you will have saved all of humanity.”
“I love you brother. Let’s go get the rest! 🙏🏻”. They continue to find survivors. Every second counts.
Friday June 26 3:00am
— Cristian Crespo F. 🇨🇺 (@cristiancrespoj)
Amidst this despair, a glimmer of hope came midday on Friday when rescuers pulled a four-year-old boy alive from the wreckage, raising hopes of finding other survivors as the critical first 72 hours after the quake are seen as crucial.
The moves of the Rodriguez government
Venezuela’s interim president, Delsy Rodriguez, declared a state of emergency and announced the creation of a special fund of $200 million to rebuild hospitals and damaged homes. The government has announced that it has found that 250 buildings were damaged or destroyed, including at least eight hospitals, the Venezuelan Red Cross and the French embassy. At the same time, he appealed to companies to make available heavy machinery, so that the release operations could be accelerated.
Delci Rodríguez visited the area of Macuto, in the state of La Guaira, in order to see firsthand the scale of the disaster and to monitor the rescue operations. He also announced that the country had requested international aid, which would begin arriving within the next few hours.
We were in Macuto accompanying our people in the search and rescue of all those affected by this terrible tragedy. The national government is deployed to address the emergency and in the next few hours we will continue to receive support from the international community.
— Delcy Rodríguez (@delcyrodriguezv)
“We have asked for international help and support from sister countries will start arriving in the next few hours. All our wishes, hopes and prayers are directed towards the lives of Venezuelans,” he said. She later announced that the state of La Guaira would be “militarized”, probably meaning that the army would be deployed there to maintain order, but also to provide increased surveillance for search and rescue operations.
International shipments arrive together with humanitarian aid
The international response was immediate. On Friday morning, a mission of 80 rescuers from Switzerland landed in Venezuela, accompanied by 18 tons of humanitarian supplies and eight specially trained search and rescue dogs.
Turkey announced the departure of two aircraft from Istanbul, carrying military personnel, doctors, rescuers and two search dogs, while the Netherlands also sent a team of 65 rescuers with special equipment and dogs.
China also offered support. President Xi Jinping sent a message of condolence to Interim President Delsy Rodriguez, expressing his deep sorrow for the loss of life and saying Beijing is ready to provide aid both to deal with the disaster and to rebuild the affected areas. According to the Chinese news agency Xinhua, two Chinese nationals are among the victims of the earthquakes.
At the same time, the United States is stepping up aid operations. The US Southern Command announced that Marine Lt. Gen. Kevin Jarrard is already in Caracas, where he is coordinating relief operations with local authorities.
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the Defense Department would help deploy search and rescue teams as damage at Simón Bolívar International Airport made it difficult to transport humanitarian aid.
“The immediate priority is search and rescue. There are many collapsed buildings and a lot of help will be needed to clear the rubble. The next 72 hours are the critical “golden” hours,” Rubio said.
