Rescue teams in Venezuela had lost hope on Tuesday of finding survivors from the twin earthquakes that struck the country last week, after hours of hard work searching for victims under the rubble of collapsed buildings.
Rescue teams from Ecuador and the US stopped working early Tuesday in Macuto, the city of La Guaira – the area most affected by last Wednesday’s earthquake – after more than 40 hours of work, when they stopped getting answers to a mother and her three children who were trapped under a nine-story building.
“Finally, we believe that the days have passed and that what we will get now is death,” said Maj. Jorge Montanero, leader of the group from Guayaquil, on the Pacific coast of Ecuador.
“Unfortunately, things haven’t gone well,” he said, standing amid the rubble after cutting through four planks of the building to find the four trapped victims.
In a makeshift mortuary in La Guaira, built in what used to be the state’s main port, Andrea Montilla sits on a plastic chair under a tarpaulin tent, waiting for family members who have entered the port to officially identify the remains of her cousin and grandmother.
International rescue teams, including teams from Canada, have joined the search in Venezuela after a series of earthquakes, as the death toll rises and an approaching tropical storm adds to the urgency.
The boy, 14, was found in the rubble of the building at night and the family brought the remains to the port, said Montilla.
“It’s very painful, waiting for a long time,” added his cousin’s mother who is still missing.
In the cold, workers led the families through an identification process, an official in the area, who was not authorized to speak to the media, told Reuters. Families can get death certificates and cremation permits, the official said.
The official, who said they are from La Guaira and have lost many family members in the earthquake, did not have the number of bodies that have been given to the families or the number that are awaiting identification.
Damage assessment
About 59,000 buildings were damaged or destroyed by the twin earthquakes – which struck seconds apart at 7.2 and 7.5 – according to US Geological Survey estimates. Widespread destruction can be seen in space.
Not all collapsed buildings had professional rescue teams on site, with relatives and neighbors working to clear the debris to retrieve survivors or bodies, according to survivors and residents from various areas.
“There is no doubt that we are facing a higher number than what has been reported. I can give an estimate: we are buying – and this has been agreed with the local authorities – 10,000 body bags,” said Gianluca Rampolla, the United Nations coordinator in Venezuela, on Monday in his office in Caracas.
The government of Acting President Delcy Rodriguez says at least 1,750 people have died and thousands have been injured as a result of the earthquake. About 16,000 people were left homeless.
A website promoted by opposition groups in the country puts the number of people still missing at around 43,000.
Venezuela’s state-owned power company PDVSA and private gas distributor Domegas said in a release they were inspecting gas lines to about 600,000 consumers in Caracas to find and repair leaks. They said that special equipment to check for leaks has arrived in the country.
The UN warns of impending famine, disease
The United Nations has warned that survivors will face the risks of starvation and disease after the twin earthquakes.
The World Food Program (WFP) is asking for US$50 million to provide emergency food assistance to up to 500,000 people over the next three months, the organization said in a statement, adding that it has the capacity to feed up to one million people if sufficient funding is available.
WFP has provided 1,200 people with one month’s worth of food including grains, cereals, including dry beans and lentils, and vegetable oil, to 1,200 people in La Guaira and has established temporary food centers in the province.
Earlier on Tuesday, the World Health Organization (WHO) warned that Venezuela’s health system is under serious pressure, as at least three health centers have been seriously damaged and six others are damaged or partially functional.
Thousands of people displaced by the earthquake are also at risk of outbreaks of diseases such as yellow fever and dengue, especially given the low level of vaccination, said WHO spokesperson Christian Lindmeier.
Washington has sent 89 tons of essential items to Venezuela, the US Embassy in Caracas said in the X post.
“Our team in Venezuela is working hard to set up an emergency hospital,” the ambassador said. “Soon, we will be able to provide emergency medical care to those who are suffering.”
In the meantime19:02Anger is growing over Venezuela’s earthquake
Six days after twin earthquakes struck Venezuela, the death toll has risen to nearly 1,500 – but the true number is expected to be much higher as nearly 50,000 people are reported missing. Ana Vanessa Herrero, a reporter from Caracas, reports on the situation on the ground, and the growing anger among officials for not doing enough. And we talk to Fanny Villarte-Croce, a Venezuelan-Canadian, who shares what she’s doing here in Canada to help.
