Venezuela earthquake death toll surpasses 1,400 as 50,000 remain missing and rescuers dig with bare hands
Three days after twin 7.2 and 7.5 quakes, bodies are still being recovered while volunteers and international aid arrive, and anger over the official response grows.
Quake toll and scale
On Wednesday, two powerful earthquakes of magnitude 7.2 and 7.5 struck northern Venezuela, causing massive devastation especially in the coastal city of La Guaira. By Saturday, 1,430 people were confirmed dead and 3,238 injured. The UN reported more than 50,000 missing.
The death toll is expected to rise significantly, given the extremely complex rescue operation.
A magnitude 4.8 aftershock rattled the region on Saturday, according to the Euro-Mediterranean Seismological Centre. The UN estimated that up to 6.76 million people may have been affected, including two million in the capital Caracas. The UN Development Programme assessed damage at nearly $7 billion, equivalent to about 6% of Venezuela's annual output.
- Twin earthquakes of magnitude 7.2 and 7.5 strike northern Venezuela, devastating La Guaira.
- Newborn rescued from collapsed building in La Guaira after 32 hours.
- 4.8 magnitude aftershock; death toll reaches 1,430, UN reports 50,000 missing; US aid flights begin.
Rescue with bare hands
In the rubble of collapsed buildings, residents and volunteers have been digging without heavy machinery. An Australian rescuer, Craig Demeillon, said most of the work was done by locals with rudimentary tools. In Caraballeda, one of the hardest-hit areas, residents formed human chains to pass debris bucket by bucket. According to shopkeeper Luis Flores, they extracted four survivors (including a young girl) and three bodies.
A newborn was rescued alive from the rubble 32 hours after the quakes in La Guaira, a rare moment of hope caught on video. But elsewhere, the search was grim. Dani Rizo, a volunteer, described the desperate effort to save a nine-year-old girl.
Since last night, we've been trying to get the little girl out and we can hear her voice down there.
No official rescue arrived in time; the child died, still trapped. Residents say they urgently need electricity generators, metal grinders and bulldozers.
Government and international response
The absence of government support has provoked fury. In La Guaira, a protester shouted at the acting president, "The government does nothing for the people!" Groups of volunteers with shovels were turned away from the most damaged zone in Caracas. At the overrun Catia La Mar hospital, Yessica Mendoza described bodies lying on the floor, forcing families to take their dead directly to the morgue.
The United States began flying humanitarian aid into Caracas on Saturday after one of the airport's runways reopened. A long queue formed at the Poliedro concert hall, where the government was issuing permits for access to the disaster zone.
