Rescue efforts continue as the death toll continues to rise
The death toll from the two earthquakes that struck Venezuela rose to 1,430 people, with more than 3,200 injured and more than 50,000 missing, as rescue teams raced against time on Saturday to find survivors, days after two earthquakes measuring 7.2 and 7.5 struck the country.Experts say that the first 72 hours after natural disasters are the main window to find those alive. That window has now closed. The search for survivors became a search for bodies.In La Guaira, the worst-hit coastal state north of Caracas, the air smells of death. Sirens sound as ambulances and rescue vehicles race through the streets. Dust blankets communities and, with rising temperatures, more people are wearing masks as the smell of decomposition spreads.
Stories of those who survived
A mother was forced to take her daughter’s body to a morgue in Caracas. Her daughter and son-in-law were unable to escape the collapsed wreckage of their home in La Guaira on Wednesday.“We were the ones who took them out ourselves. We received no help at all,” she told AFP. The couple will be cremated without awakening due to the rapid decomposition of their bodies.Frustration is mounting over what many see as an inadequate government response.
Soldiers, firefighters, police and cadets seemed unprepared for the scale of the tragedy.
People look at the wall of missing posters
“There’s a pile of bodies from last night. Newborn babies,” said Melede Romero, who was among those searching the coastal town of Caraballada. “At eight o’clock in the evening, there were people alive there, and they didn’t bother to rescue them. We found many bodies, and they didn’t help us recover them either. What are they waiting for?”At the site of one of the collapsed buildings, people prevented an excavator from leaving and removed the operator from its cabin shortly after state employees took selfies in front of the collapsed buildings and left without help.“They came to eat arepas and take pictures to make it look like they were working,” said Jason Marcano, who had been searching for three days. “They didn’t even get their uniforms dirty like we did.”
Pictures show rescue efforts across earthquake-ravaged Venezuela
The government has restricted access to La Guaira and made it necessary for volunteers to obtain a secure entry permit. Anger escalated among those waiting in line outside the concert hall in Caracas.“You need a permit to save lives – just imagine,” Carlos Itriago, 27, complained.Ezequiel Rivero, 53, said: “I have been here since dawn standing in line so I can save people. Look what time it is… How many lives have we lost so far?”In the Chacao neighborhood of Caracas, acting President Delcy Rodriguez toured, and was met with anger from residents for trying to campaign in the midst of a tragedy.
Musician Zaira Castro put it more bluntly: “It’s actually us, Venezuelans, who help each other.
We live in a community that has grown to help each other. We don’t depend on the government, it no longer exists for us.”The people who survive are forced to brave the outside, and the buildings are no longer stable or safe for residents to return to.
Wife’s vigilance
Barbara Palacios heard her husband’s voice from under the rubble. “Jonathan!” I screamed, jumped for joy, looked at the sky and thanked God.That was Friday, and by Saturday, rescue teams could no longer hear him.
Palacios refused to believe he was dead.“It all fell apart. He tried to get out but didn’t have the chance.” She told AFP.
Effects of earthquakes in La Guaira
“I will not leave until they take my husband away,” she said.Despite tremendous efforts, Palacio’s husband was not alive when they finally pulled him from the rubble.
The arrival of international aid
21 countries are sending search and rescue teams. The United States deployed more than 250 personnel, including three special search and rescue units with dogs trained to locate people trapped under the rubble.
Simón Bolívar International Airport, which serves Caracas, was badly damaged but has one runway operational.
Tom Fletcher, the United Nations humanitarian aid coordinator, said that more than 50,000 people were missing. The United Nations migration agency estimated that up to 6.76 million people could be affected. The United Nations estimated the material damage at about $6.7 billion, equivalent to six percent of Venezuela’s gross domestic product.
On Friday, there was a moment of joy when local residents were able to pull out a baby alive from under the rubble, about 32 hours after the tremors. But in every moment like that, there are countless others like Barbara Palacios, the wife who stood vigil for days, only to learn that her husband was no longer alive.
