Rescue personnel pulled a father and son alive from the rubble of a collapsed building on Sunday, four days after two devastating earthquakes struck. Venezuela.
The scene was a glimmer of hope for the French and American rescue teams active in the region, while they raced against time to find more survivors.
Rescuers carried the two men, who looked very weak and each wearing masks, on makeshift canvas stretchers through the debris-strewn streets of La Guaira to a waiting ambulance.
This coastal state was the most affected by the two earthquakes that occurred on Wednesday, killing at least 1,450 people and leaving thousands missing.
Their rescue came after 12 hours of tireless efforts by teams that combed the rubble using specialized search cameras, working carefully through the unstable rubble to reach the trapped victims.
A baby, an 11-year-old boy, and his father are among the miracle survivors who have been pulled from the rubble following the devastating twin earthquakes in Venezuela ➡️ https://t.co/V5pUfxAVrl
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A member of the French Civil Security said: “They are in a very weak state, as is the case with any patient who remains trapped under the rubble for four days, so we are doing everything we can to rehydrate them and give them different medications during the process of extracting them, which is going very slowly.”
At least 33 people were rescued over the weekend, but tens of thousands are still missing, raising fears that time is running out to find survivors.
Specialists point out that the chances of finding people alive under the rubble decrease significantly 72 hours after the earthquake.
During the father’s rescue (AFP).
The number of victims of the two earthquakes in Venezuela approaches 1,500
Yesterday, Sunday, rescue teams raced against time to search for more survivors of the two earthquakes, while the death toll from the two successive earthquakes that occurred on Wednesday approached 1,500 people.
Foreign rescue teams flocked to the state of La Guaira, the most affected state in a country that has long been mired in a deep political and economic crisis.
Dozens of buildings collapsed, turning into piles of sand and rubble in this coastal state, which is about 40 kilometers north of Caracas.
During the father’s rescue (AFP).
Interim President Delcy Rodriguez said, after announcing the formation of a presidential committee that will determine the suitability of the buildings for habitation, “Rescue and recovery efforts are continuing. Today (Sunday) people were recovered alive, and therefore operations will not be suspended. We are always hopeful.”
While she was surrounded by a number of ministers, she added that it was decided to suspend classes in schools for another week, and that the electricity supply in La Guaira had returned to 75 percent.
Strenuous efforts by rescue teams (AFP).
