At least 920 people have been confirmed dead and more than 50,000 remain missing following the devastating twin earthquakes that struck Venezuela on Wednesday. As the death toll continues to rise, so does public frustration over what residents describe as an inadequate response from state authorities.
The earthquakes, measuring 7.2 and 7.5 in magnitude and occurring just seconds apart, caused widespread destruction across several regions of the country. The coastal city of La Guaira, near the capital Caracas, was among the hardest-hit areas, with countless buildings reduced to rubble.
The death toll from the earthquakes has risen to 920, National Assembly President Jorge Rodríguez announced on Friday.
Speaking to AFP in Geneva, UN humanitarian chief Tom Fletcher said that more than 50,000 people remain unaccounted for. “This is an extremely complex rescue operation,” he noted, adding that the number of fatalities is expected to increase significantly.
In La Guaira, residents and volunteers are making desperate efforts to locate survivors trapped beneath the debris. They have appealed for equipment capable of cutting through steel reinforcement bars and moving massive concrete slabs.
Marlon Ochoa, who survived the collapse of a building, said he is searching for his mother, wife, and son. “We need help. There are people alive under the rubble,” he stressed. “We don’t have the tools necessary to rescue them.”
International Assistance
Nearly 48 hours after the disaster, rescue teams from 17 countries have arrived in the affected areas, where Venezuela’s healthcare system is reportedly on the brink of collapse.
The United States announced on Friday that it would deploy a 250-member mission to the disaster zone, after already pledging $150 million in aid and dispatching two naval vessels, transport aircraft, and helicopters.
Rescue teams from El Salvador, Mexico, Colombia, and Switzerland were among the first to arrive in Venezuela.
Standing before a residential complex flattened in La Guaira, Chilean rescue team leader Nandiomar Polanco said that “unfortunately, there is very little hope of finding survivors.” His team was the first to reach the site and is now primarily focused on recovering bodies from the wreckage.
Among the confirmed victims are at least 28 people of Portuguese descent, two Brazilians, one Italian-Venezuelan citizen, and two Chinese nationals. Spain has also confirmed the deaths of five of its citizens.
‘The Authorities Are Useless’
In La Guaira, home to the country’s main airport—which was rendered inoperative by the earthquakes—some residents have taken rescue efforts into their own hands.
“He is there,” cried 23-year-old Alessandro del Giudice as he searched for his father beneath a mountain of debris. His grandmother, Amparo, was digging with her bare hands in a desperate attempt to find her son. “There are too many concrete blocks; we cannot lift them by ourselves,” she said weakly.
“The authorities are useless. The military should be here with all the equipment it has,” complained local resident Argenis Méndez.
After visiting La Guaira on Thursday, Venezuela’s interim President Delcy Rodríguez, who assumed power in January following the ousting of Nicolás Maduro, traveled on Friday to an affluent district of Caracas where another building had collapsed. She was met with boos and angry criticism from relatives of those trapped beneath the rubble.
“Enough of political campaigning in the middle of a tragedy like the one we are living through,” family members shouted at her, according to an AFP journalist at the scene.
