Thousands remain displaced as rescue teams work through collapsed buildings in Caracas, a local reporter told RT
Rescue teams in Venezuela are racing against time to find survivors trapped under rubble following twin earthquakes that struck the country last week, although hopes of more rescues are fading, a local reporter told RT.
Two back-to-back shocks of magnitude 7.2 and 7.5 less than a minute apart killed at least 1,450 people, while nearly 70,000 others remain unaccounted for, according to official data.
Emergency workers are continuing to remove debris in Caracas, though the worst destruction was registered in the coastal state of La Guaira, where entire buildings collapsed and large-scale rescue operations are still under way.
“It’s not likely that they are going to find survivors,” correspondent Gladys Quesada said as rescue teams worked through the rubble of a collapsed apartment block. According to her, one 19-year-old woman was pulled alive from the ruins, while others trapped inside the building could not be rescued alive.
The authorities meanwhile are restoring basic services. People whose homes were damaged have been moved to public squares, parks, and stadiums because engineers consider many buildings unsafe to enter, according to the report.
“We can’t be near here,” one person said. “It could fall at any moment.”
The Venezuelan government has distributed over 7,300 kg of food, medicine, and other aid. The Caracas metro has reopened and around 60% of electricity has been restored in La Guaira.
International rescue teams from China, Russia, Chile, and El Salvador have joined the relief efforts. Volunteers created online databases listing missing people and survivors in an effort to reunite families inside and outside Venezuela, while officials issue daily updates on rescue and recovery operations.
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