Rescue teams continued searching for survivors on Sunday following two powerful earthquakes that struck Venezuela earlier this week, as authorities raced against time to locate thousands of people still reported missing.
The death toll from Wednesday’s twin earthquakes has climbed to nearly 1,500, with the hardest-hit coastal state of La Guaira, located about 40 kilometres north of Caracas, suffering extensive destruction.
Dozens of buildings collapsed, leaving rescue workers, volunteers, and international teams searching through the rubble for survivors.
Interim President Delcy Rodríguez said rescue and recovery operations would continue after several people were pulled out alive on Sunday.
“Operations are not being suspended. We always maintain hope,” she said, while announcing the establishment of a presidential commission to assess the structural safety of damaged buildings.
Rodríguez also announced that schools would remain closed for another week and said electricity supply in La Guaira had been restored to approximately 75 percent.
According to government figures, the disaster has left 1,450 people dead, 3,150 injured, 12,721 displaced, and 774 buildings collapsed.
Authorities said at least 33 people had been rescued alive over the weekend, including several children.
Rescue efforts have been reinforced by more than 2,600 international emergency responders, although local residents reported that limited heavy equipment and hundreds of aftershocks have complicated operations.
A father and his son were among those rescued alive from a collapsed building on Sunday.
Meanwhile, an opposition-backed missing persons database listed just under 50,000 people as unaccounted for on Sunday, down from approximately 55,000 the previous day.
The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) has warned that the final death toll could exceed 10,000, potentially making the disaster one of Latin America’s deadliest earthquakes in modern history.
International rescue teams acknowledged that survival chances decline significantly after the first 72 hours, although search operations continue where signs of life are detected.
Among the successful rescues, a U.S. search team pulled an infant alive from the rubble, while Colombian and Mexican rescue crews each rescued 11-year-old boys trapped beneath collapsed buildings.
Pope Leo also expressed solidarity with the victims during his Angelus address in Rome, offering prayers for those affected and gratitude to emergency responders.
Meanwhile, U.S. officials said additional humanitarian assistance worth hundreds of millions of dollars is expected to be announced, supplementing the US$150 million already pledged by Washington.
The disaster has also disrupted Venezuela’s energy sector, with the country’s largest refinery, the 645,000-barrel-per-day Amuay refinery, suspending operations on Sunday following a major power outage in Falcon State.
Source: Reuters
