Rescue operations continue relentlessly in Venezuela after the powerful earthquakes that struck the country this week, leaving behind scenes of mass destruction and thousands of people missing. In Caracas and nearby coastal areas, rescue teams are still trying to find survivors trapped under the rubble.
According to authorities, at least 235 bodies have been transported to medical centers since the magnitude 7,2 and 7,5 earthquakes struck on Wednesday about 160 kilometers west of the capital. However, the overall death toll remains uncertain, and the numbers could rise in the coming days as the search continues.
The situation is particularly critical regarding the missing. A tracking website shared by opposition leaders lists nearly 49,500 people unaccounted for, while estimates from the United States Geological Survey suggest a potential death toll of over 10,000. These figures underscore the scale of the disaster in a country already weakened.
In several disaster areas, particularly in La Guaira and Morón, rescue workers are working day and night, sometimes by torchlight only, due to power outages. Firefighters, soldiers, and residents are all participating in the search, sifting through the rubble with their bare hands when heavy equipment is unavailable.
The families' accounts illustrate the scale of the human tragedy. A distraught mother reported that her 19-year-old son was still trapped under the rubble of their collapsed building. "He's under the slabs and there's no machinery to get him out," she said from La Guaira, a coastal city near Caracas.
Faced with the scale of the disaster, foreign rescue teams have begun arriving in the country. But damaged infrastructure and logistical difficulties are severely complicating operations in a state already weakened by years of economic and political crisis.
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