Venezuela quake toll climbs above 1,400 as foreign rescue teams join search

CARACAS: The death toll from Venezuela’s twin earthquakes rose to more than 1,400 on Saturday as international rescue teams arrived to support search efforts in the worst-affected coastal areas, while local authorities continued looking for survivors under collapsed buildings.

The two earthquakes, measuring 7.2 and 7.5 magnitude, struck within a minute of each other on Wednesday. Rescue work remained focused on heavily damaged areas including La Guaira, north of Caracas, where residents were also digging through debris themselves in the hope of finding survivors. Experts said the first 72 hours after such disasters are considered the most critical period for locating people alive.

There was a rare moment of relief in La Guaira on Friday when an infant was pulled alive from the rubble about 32 hours after the earthquakes. A video shared on social media showed a man in tears while holding the rescued baby.

The toll had earlier stood at 920, while United Nations aid chief Tom Fletcher warned AFP that the number could rise sharply. The UN humanitarian agency OCHA said search-and-rescue teams from at least 17 countries were being mobilised to help locate survivors. The United States said one runway at Simon Bolivar International Airport had resumed operations, allowing C-17 US military aircraft to land, while a naval vessel had also reached the coast.

Warnings over humanitarian needs

The UN migration agency said its review of available population and damage data showed that up to 6.76 million people could be affected by the disaster. Those impacted would require emergency shelter, safe water, sanitation and hygiene services, healthcare, protection support and essential relief supplies.

Amid the widening emergency, Delcy Rodriguez, described as the US-backed interim Venezuelan leader, said the country was not facing the crisis alone. Her remarks came as anger grew over the response of local officials.

Public anger over response

Residents in some of the affected areas expressed frustration over what they said was an inadequate official response. In Caracas on Friday, some people jeered Rodriguez as she visited a neighbourhood that had been destroyed.

One of those affected, Yessica Mendoza, said she had to take her daughter’s body to a morgue in Caracas herself after 25-year-old Yesimar Rodriguez and her 26-year-old husband Jhomel Anaya were killed when their home in La Guaira collapsed on Wednesday.

Speaking to AFP, Mendoza said the family had received no assistance during the recovery effort. "We were the ones who pulled them out ourselves. No help ever came."

Mendoza, 43, added that the couple would be cremated without a wake because their bodies were decomposing rapidly.