Every person rescued is a miracle. Rubble is being cleared by bare hands and shovels, with drones flying overhead to search from above for signs of life. Every moment, every step is now crucial, as the fight to rescue survivors runs against time. Such efforts are under way to rescue the missing in Venezuela. The coastal state of La Guaira, on the boundary next to the capital, Caracas, lies in ruins as far as the eye can see; it was among the worst-hit areas after two powerful earthquakes struck on Wednesday, the BBC reports.
Residents and their families are desperately searching beneath the rubble for loved ones and their valuables. They strain to hear the slightest sound in the hope that someone may be alive beneath the concrete and iron rods. Officials have so far confirmed that at least 1,430 people died in the two quakes, of magnitude 7.2 and 7.5; the 7.5 quake was among the most powerful recorded in the country in a century. Hundreds of buildings have collapsed, and thousands of people remain trapped under the rubble. The numbers of dead and injured are rising by the hour. The United Nations estimates that about 50,000 people are missing. Local rescue teams are very few, but international teams from Mexico, Spain, the United States and Britain have joined the effort — though even that is not enough.
Humanitarian agencies say the first 48 to 72 hours are the most critical for rescuing people alive, though this window can be longer if a trapped person has food and water. National Assembly President Jorge Rodriguez said: “Every person rescued is a miracle. We will hide nothing about the scale of this tragedy.”
Despair hangs over Catia La Mar, a coastal town in La Guaira state, where very few buildings remain standing. Government forces are distributing food and water among the survivors. Acting President Delcy Rodriguez said the government was conducting an all-out rescue operation during this critical period. Anxious people wait near places where relatives are believed to be trapped. One of them, Jesus Suarez, travelled about 200 kilometres to search for his son, Jean Suarez. “No information is available. Those who know him say they did not see him come out,” he said, pointing to the rubble of a collapsed building. “I believe he is there.”
Suarez faces a crisis many people here face. “Rescuing him is almost impossible. There is no advanced equipment here. One person cannot do this alone. It is very dangerous,” he said. The relatives of 31-year-old Carlos Eduardo, trapped under the rubble, at least know where he is; at times they hear him speaking or groaning.
A cousin of his told BBC News Mundo: “We started calling — ‘Carlos, Carlos, son…’. Then he made a sound, a groan. That happened about an hour and a half ago.” He said: “Since then we have heard no sound. He has not spoken again or shown any sign of life. But he has done this before. On Saturday afternoon too he fell silent after groaning. So we are still waiting for help, in the hope that he can be rescued alive.”
Traffic and crowds are at times hampering rescue work. Soldiers and Mexican volunteers repeatedly ask everyone to stay silent so any sound of life can be heard from beneath the rubble. Everyone is helping however they can. Those with drones are trying to locate the living or the dead in inaccessible areas. Family members stare at the drone footage — perhaps they will spot a familiar piece of clothing, a lock of hair or a personal item, something that might bring news of a loved one. As time passes, the informal death toll rises, and so do its terrible consequences.
Glendis Delgado said: “A smell is spreading. The smell of dead bodies. It will make us and our children ill.” She said two buildings near her home had collapsed, but no government help had yet reached there. “No one from the government has come here. But I thank God that people from Caracas are coming and helping us with food,” she said.
Deyer Gabriel, 27, said: “Macuto, Caribe — everywhere is damaged. And we are all smelling that stench.” On Friday, authorities said 861 volunteers from various countries including Mexico, the United States, El Salvador, Switzerland and Colombia had already reached Venezuela, with many more on the way. Acting President Delcy Rodriguez said she had spoken on Friday with US President Donald Trump and US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who reaffirmed their pledge to send rescue teams and relief.
One woman stood in front of her destroyed home, her legs still trembling. “We are waiting for humanitarian aid. They must come to help us,” she pleaded. She had returned home to retrieve her washing machine. “This is a very hard situation. We were not ready for it. People work so hard and sacrifice so much to achieve something, and in the blink of an eye it all collapses. But the most important thing is life,” she said. The situation of 28-year-old Alexandra Gabino is much the same. She has two children, one aged seven and the other two. During the quake she was in a car with her husband and children. “The children started screaming. We could not understand what was happening. Suddenly the building next to us collapsed, and my husband quickly reversed the car,” she said.
The four of them are now spending the nights in their car in a parking area of the Simon Bolivar International Airport in Maiquetia. The airport is closed due to damage, but being open and flat ground away from buildings makes it comparatively safe to shelter there. Alexandra waits outside a damaged building while her husband tries to reach their flat on the 15th floor of an unstable building to retrieve some essentials and important papers. “Only the most essential things, because going inside is very dangerous. We cannot risk recovering much,” she said. “Losing everything is very painful. My mother lost her home, and we lost ours. We have nothing left.” She tries to stay strong for her children. Then she said something that now expresses what many people are feeling: “Everyone says, you’re alive — that’s what matters most. Yes, that’s true. But what we have to endure is deeply painful. Seeing people suffer, hearing their screams, seeing children trapped in rubble, and the helplessness of being unable to do anything while caring for your own children — all of this is agonising.” Finally she said she tried to stay strong, but inside she was hurting badly.
বাংলায় মূল প্রতিবেদন পড়ুন · Read the original Bengali report