Rescuers pull 11-year-old boy alive from Venezuela rubble 70 hours after twin earthquakes
Search teams in northern Venezuela pulled an 11-year-old boy from a collapsed building in Caraballeda on Saturday, marking the second successful rescue of a minor since two major earthquakes struck the country on Wednesday.
Dramatic rescue in Caraballeda
Colombian search-and-rescue specialists from the USAR Colombia 1 unit, together with firefighters from Bogotá, freed eleven-year-old Moises after he spent roughly 70 hours trapped beneath debris. The operation in the coastal town of Caraballeda, north of Caracas, came three full days after twin earthquakes of magnitude 7.2 and 7.5 devastated parts of Venezuela. The rescue follows the earlier extraction of a newborn from collapsed structures, offering a rare moment of hope amid a staggering death toll.
Just a few minutes ago, an eleven-year-old boy was rescued in Caraballeda. In this moment, every life is a source of hope for Venezuela.
Interim President Delcy Rodríguez shared video of the moment the boy was pulled free on social media platform X. The Colombian Defence Ministry confirmed its USAR team had located Moises alive and said the outcome "brings hope and strengthens the effort to find and rescue other survivors."
The human and material toll
Parliament President Jorge Rodríguez, brother of the interim president, told state television on Friday that 1,430 people had been confirmed dead and 3,238 were injured. Another 3,100 people were left homeless, and 430 aftershocks have shaken the region since the initial quakes. Some outlets reported that at least 50,000 residents remain unaccounted for, though officials described the number of missing only as in the tens of thousands and said the figure remained unclear three days into the disaster. More than 70,000 families have received some form of government assistance.
- Two earthquakes, magnitude 7.2 and 7.5, strike northern Venezuela
- 430 aftershocks recorded; casualty count surpasses 1,000 dead
- Rescue teams from 24 countries arrive; 2,741 personnel on site
- 11-year-old boy rescued alive after 70 hours under rubble in Caraballeda
International aid mobilises
Authorities said 24 countries had dispatched help by Saturday evening, and 2,741 foreign rescue personnel had integrated into Venezuelan search-and-rescue operations. The Colombian USAR-1 team was among the first specialised units to arrive. Experts caution that survival rates drop sharply after 72 hours, though some studies indicate rescues can still succeed within five or six days of a building collapse.
A fragile hope
Moises is the second child rescued alive since the earthquakes struck. Each new recovery bolsters the morale of crews working around the clock, even as the scale of the catastrophe grows clearer. With thousands still missing and the window for finding survivors narrowing, the boy's survival is being treated by officials and residents alike as a powerful symbol that rescue efforts must continue.
