By Ginika Igboke
Rescue crews across Venezuela continued their relentless search for survivors on Monday following the devastating twin earthquakes that struck the country last week, but hopes of finding more people alive beneath collapsed buildings are fading rapidly as emergency teams move beyond the critical rescue window.
Authorities say at least 1,450 people have lost their lives in one of the deadliest natural disasters to strike Venezuela in decades. Thousands more have been injured, tens of thousands remain missing, and entire communities have been left in ruins as rescue workers race against time to search through mountains of concrete, twisted steel, and debris.
While miraculous rescues have offered moments of hope over the past several days, emergency officials acknowledge that the likelihood of locating additional survivors decreases significantly with every passing hour.
The first 72 hours after a major earthquake are widely considered the most critical period for rescue operations. During that time, victims trapped beneath collapsed buildings have the greatest chance of surviving before dehydration, injuries, and exhaustion become life-threatening. Although survival beyond that period is possible, especially when trapped individuals have access to water or small air pockets, experts say the odds decline dramatically.
Despite those grim realities, Venezuelan authorities insist search-and-rescue operations will continue until every possible location has been examined.
National Assembly President Jorge Rodríguez said the humanitarian crisis remains severe, with approximately 3,150 people injured and more than 12,700 residents displaced from their homes. Thousands of families are now living in temporary shelters or makeshift camps after neighborhoods were reduced to rubble.
Rodríguez described the coming days as decisive for both rescue efforts and emergency relief operations, emphasizing that authorities must simultaneously search for survivors while providing food, shelter, and medical care for those who have lost everything.
“We are in critical hours,” Rodríguez said during a televised address, stressing that emergency crews remain focused on saving lives while expanding temporary housing for displaced residents.
Interim President Delcy Rodríguez echoed that message, announcing that rescue operations would not be suspended after emergency teams successfully located dozens of survivors over the weekend.
She revealed that 33 people had been rescued alive during ongoing operations, reinforcing the government’s determination to continue searching despite the diminishing odds.
“We recovered people alive today,” she said during a national address. “Therefore, the rescue operations will not be suspended.”
The interim president also reported gradual improvements in basic infrastructure across La Guaira, one of the regions hardest hit by the earthquakes. According to government officials, electricity has largely been restored in affected communities, water service is slowly returning, and several damaged roads have reopened to allow aid deliveries and rescue vehicles to reach isolated neighborhoods.
Nevertheless, humanitarian organizations caution that restoring essential services will likely take months in many communities where roads, bridges, hospitals, schools, and public buildings suffered catastrophic damage.
Adding to the uncertainty is the enormous number of people still listed as missing.
A website established by volunteers to help families locate loved ones contains reports of more than 46,000 missing individuals. Officials have not yet determined how many of those people have since been found, reunited with relatives, or remain trapped beneath collapsed structures.
Across Caracas, La Guaira, and neighboring regions, thousands of anxious families continue searching hospitals, emergency shelters, and temporary morgues while posting photographs of missing relatives in public squares and community centers.
Even as hope fades, remarkable rescues continue to inspire emergency workers and grieving families.
On Sunday morning, an international rescue team made up of specialists from Venezuela, the United States, and France successfully pulled a father and his young son alive from beneath the wreckage of a collapsed building after the pair had spent four days trapped underground.
Covered in dust and visibly weakened, both survivors were carefully lifted from the debris before being transported by ambulance. Medical teams immediately began administering intravenous fluids to treat severe dehydration while rushing them to a nearby hospital for further evaluation.
Another emotional rescue involved an infant discovered alive beneath collapsed concrete. Video released by U.S. officials showed rescue personnel carefully lifting the crying baby from the rubble before wrapping the child in blankets and carrying the infant to waiting medical crews.
In another dramatic operation, Colombian rescue specialists located an 11-year-old boy buried approximately 10 feet beneath collapsed debris using advanced electronic detection equipment capable of identifying signs of life beneath concrete.
The child survived with a broken arm and was transported to a hospital, though rescuers confirmed that both his mother and sister were killed in the earthquake.
International assistance continues arriving from around the world as governments and humanitarian organizations expand support for Venezuela’s overwhelmed emergency services.
According to the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, 44 international urban search-and-rescue teams have now deployed to the disaster zone. Those teams include more than 2,200 trained rescue specialists accompanied by approximately 140 highly trained search dogs capable of detecting human scent beneath collapsed structures.
Additional rescue personnel from Israel and several other countries arrived Monday to reinforce ongoing operations.
The United States has also expanded its assistance. U.S. Southern Command released updates showing military personnel supporting rescue missions alongside Venezuelan emergency responders, saying crews have been working continuously around the clock to search damaged buildings and assist local authorities.
Despite the growing international response, frustration continues mounting among residents who believe the government’s initial reaction was too slow and poorly coordinated.
Many survivors say they spent crucial hours attempting rescues themselves using shovels, ropes, construction tools, and even their bare hands because professional rescue equipment had not yet arrived.
Across several neighborhoods, relatives and volunteers formed their own rescue brigades to search collapsed apartment buildings while waiting for official assistance.
Some residents reported that emergency crews arrived only after many hours had already passed, leaving civilians to organize rescue efforts independently during what experts consider the most important window for saving lives.
Several families have publicly criticized what they describe as inadequate coordination between military personnel, firefighters, police officers, and emergency agencies, arguing that shortages of heavy equipment delayed efforts to remove massive slabs of collapsed concrete.
Witnesses also expressed anger after reports emerged that government workers briefly visited some disaster sites before leaving without participating in rescue operations.
According to multiple accounts from affected neighborhoods, civilians even blocked heavy machinery from departing one collapsed building because residents believed rescue work had not been completed.
The scenes have fueled broader criticism of the government’s handling of the disaster as families continue waiting for information about missing relatives.
The humanitarian crisis now represents one of the greatest challenges facing Interim President Delcy Rodríguez, who assumed office in January following the dramatic political upheaval that removed Nicolás Maduro from power after his capture by U.S. authorities.
Rodríguez inherited a country already struggling with years of economic instability, weakened public infrastructure, and widespread shortages in healthcare and emergency resources. Those longstanding challenges have complicated disaster response efforts, particularly in regions where equipment and emergency services were already stretched thin before the earthquakes struck.
As rescue operations continue, emergency officials acknowledge that the mission is increasingly transitioning from searching for survivors to recovering victims.
Still, rescue crews refuse to abandon hope completely. Across Venezuela, emergency workers continue digging through shattered buildings day and night, determined to find anyone who may still be alive beneath the rubble, while families remain gathered outside collapsed homes and apartment complexes praying that one more miracle rescue is still possible.
Original article
Comments