Boy pulled alive from rubble three days after Venezuela quake; death toll passes 1,400, with 50,000 missing

Rescue miracle after three days

Three days after twin earthquakes levelled large parts of northern Venezuela, an 11-year-old boy was pulled alive from the rubble of a building in Caraballeda, a coastal town near Caracas. Interim president Delcy Rodriguez shared a video of the rescue on X, calling the moment a source of hope for the country.

A few minutes ago, an 11-year-old boy was extracted alive in Caraballeda. In this moment, every life is a source of hope for Venezuela.

The rescue came as the 72-hour window for finding survivors neared its end, though other miraculous stories cut through the devastation. On June 26, a mother and her newborn were pulled from the ruins of La Guaira. A separate 18-day-old girl was rescued after 12 hours, and a woman gave birth amid the rubble without electricity or medical help.

Casualty toll and humanitarian crisis

The provisional death toll stood at 1,430 by June 28, with 3,238 injured, according to official figures. United Nations agencies estimated total humanitarian needs at 1.8 million people, including 680,000 children. UNICEF said it was rushing aid to reach 650,000 people, including 234,000 children, with emergency supplies.

Hospitals in La Guaira and Caracas remained overwhelmed. Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) programme director Andreas Spaett described scenes reminiscent of an armed conflict, with vehicles still delivering bodies to overwhelmed facilities.

Thousands of motorbikes are heading to La Guaira to bring aid. The city looks like a war zone. In my previous experiences with MSF I have worked in similar situations, but what my eyes have seen here looks exactly like what you see in an armed conflict zone.

International aid and economic fallout

Rodriguez said 24 countries had contributed to the relief effort, sending 521 tonnes of supplies, 86 canine search teams and more than 2,741 rescue and support personnel, integrated with Venezuelan teams. Italy also dispatched a specialist unit, and Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni phoned Rodriguez to convey her shock.

I am deeply moved by the images of the tragedy. I feel profound pain also because there is an important Italian community in Venezuela, a country that in the past opened its arms to many Italians. And now Italy is moved by this situation.

The UN estimated the earthquake caused economic damage equivalent to 6% of Venezuela's GDP. An aftershock of magnitude 4.8 was recorded offshore on June 27, further complicating rescue work.

Deported Venezuelans among the dead

A group of 147 Venezuelans deported from the United States landed at Simón Bolívar International Airport in Maiquetía just hours before the earthquake. They were temporarily housed in a hotel in the La Guaira area, which collapsed completely. Only 12 of the deportees survived. The incident added a layer of political sensitivity to an already dire humanitarian disaster.

We have been working here for hours. The bodies we are pulling out are all from a children's party. You cannot imagine. This is the hardest moment of my life.

Displaced families and fraying patience

In Caracas, parks have turned into sprawling tent camps for hundreds of families who fled La Guaira or lost their homes in the capital. A mother caring for her asthmatic son inside a sweltering tent told Rai News: "For him it's almost a game, but for us it's a tragedy. In the building across from mine, almost everyone died." Anger at the slow official response boiled over in Chacao, where Rodriguez was met with boos and insults during her first public appearance in the disaster zone.