Survivors emerge after 72 hours as Venezuela earthquake toll reaches 1,430, rescuers race against time

Rescue efforts intensify

More than 72 hours after the Wednesday earthquakes, international and local rescuers are working without pause on unstable ruins in the coastal state of La Guaira. A family trapped for nearly three days with a three-year-old child was freed, a 11-year-old boy was extracted from a collapsed building in Caraballeda, and a baby was pulled alive by a US team. Spanish military emergency unit rescuers also retrieved a person buried at the Vistamar residence, while the elite Madrid rescue group Ericam located a woman and her two grandchildren. Workers describe progressing slowly because many 1950s-era structures are unstable and heavy machinery cannot be used everywhere.

“In these hours, every life is hope for Venezuela.”

International aid flows in

Acting President Delcy Rodríguez confirmed that 24 countries have dispatched 521 tonnes of supplies, 86 canine teams and over 2,741 search-and-rescue and support personnel. The total number of foreign rescuers on the ground exceeds 1,600. Civil protection, firefighters, national and international rescue specialists, security forces and medical staff are deployed across La Guaira. The official death toll stands at 1,430, with 3,238 injured and 3,142 families left homeless. Nine Spanish nationals are among the dead, and 131 people remain missing.

Communities mobilise as authorities are absent

In Caracas neighbourhoods such as El Junquito, residents organised their own rescues. Neighbour Roberto Durán told EFE that children’s cries alerted them to survivors trapped under debris. Resident Mayberlin Quintero said the authorities had not come, but volunteers from other parts of the capital arrived with blankets, food and medicine. University student Santiago, 22, who has been working without pause since Wednesday, described a volunteer network called “Pónte las pilas” that coordinates needs like torches, picks and shovels via social media. He said police and the National Guard have barely been seen in Caracas, and the operation relies on citizen solidarity.

“Unfortunately, yesterday while clearing rubble we found a person dead in the building. Before, three or four more had been pulled out, and we don’t know if they were alive or dead.”

Repatriation from Caracas begins

A Spanish Air Force A330 returned to Torrejón airbase near Madrid on Sunday carrying 96 evacuees from eight countries. The flight, which had departed with 59 military emergency personnel, engineers and eight canine units, brought back 76 Spanish citizens as well as nationals of France, Italy, Portugal, Belgium, Slovakia, Venezuela and Argentina. Foreign Minister José Manuel Albares detailed the breakdown, and another flight coordinated by the Spanish international development agency AECID departed on Saturday with additional disaster-assessment and coordination teams.

“Here, the authorities haven't come, but many people have come to help. Yesterday there was a lot of help with food, medicines, nurses. They helped the children a lot.”