Rescue teams are continuing search operations across Venezuela following the two powerful earthquakes that struck the country last week, with officials saying signs of life are still being discovered amid the rubble.
According to government figures released on Sunday, the death toll from Wednesday’s twin earthquakes has climbed to nearly 1,500 people, while thousands remain injured and displaced.
Foreign rescue teams have continued arriving in La Guaira, the state worst affected by the disaster. Dozens of buildings collapsed across the coastal region, located about 40 kilometres north of Caracas.
“Rescue and recovery efforts are ongoing. Today (Sunday) we have recovered people alive and, therefore, operations are not being suspended. We always maintain hope,”
interim President Delcy Rodriguez said after announcing the creation of a presidential commission to assess the safety of damaged buildings.
Rodriguez also announced that school activities would remain suspended for another week and said electricity supply in La Guaira had been restored to about 75 percent.
Government tightens access to disaster zone
While the government initially welcomed civilian volunteers delivering aid to affected communities, authorities later restricted access to the main road into La Guaira, saying heavy traffic was slowing the movement of emergency vehicles.
Jorge Rodriguez, who is also the acting president’s brother, said the official death toll increased by 20 on Sunday to reach 1,450.
He added that:
- 3,150 people have been injured
- 12,721 people have been displaced
- 774 buildings have collapsed
“We are in critical hours, in crucial hours to continue rescuing lives and to build camps where those people who have lost their homes, or who cannot return, for whatever reason, to their residences can stay,”
he said.
Thousands still unaccounted for
Families and volunteers spent several days searching through debris before the arrival of more than 2,600 foreign rescue workers. Residents have complained about a shortage of heavy equipment and limited official presence during the early stages of the response.
Although the government says several hundred people are still missing or trapped, an online registry promoted by opposition groups listed just under 50,000 people as unaccounted for on Sunday, down from about 55,000 a day earlier.
Rescuers race against time
The United States Geological Survey has warned that the final death toll from the 7.2 and 7.5 magnitude earthquakes could exceed 10,000 people, potentially making them among the deadliest earthquakes in Latin America in the past century.
“There exists a window of roughly three days, 72 hours, where the probability afterwards decreases that you can save people alive,”
said Sebastian Eugster.
He said the 80-member Swiss team located several survivors using search dogs, although some could not be reached in time.
Children rescued from rubble
Rescue workers from several countries have continued to pull survivors from collapsed buildings.
The U.S. State Department confirmed that American rescue crews saved an infant on Saturday, while a Colombian team rescued an 11-year-old boy identified as Moises, who had been trapped about three metres beneath rubble.
Mexican rescuers later freed another 11-year-old boy from a collapsed building in Caraballeda.
Pope Leo also expressed solidarity with the Venezuelan people during the Angelus prayer in Rome and thanked rescue workers for their efforts.
International aid and political developments
A senior U.S. official said a new aid package worth several hundred million dollars is expected to be announced in addition to the $150 million already committed by the administration of President Donald Trump.
Opposition leader and Nobel Peace Prize winner Maria Corina Machado said she plans to return to Venezuela after living in hiding and later leaving the country in December to receive her award.
Meanwhile, Venezuela’s largest refinery, the Amuay Refinery, reportedly shut down operations on Sunday following a major power outage in Falcon State.
Outlook
Rescue efforts remain underway as authorities and international teams continue searching for survivors. With aftershocks still being recorded and thousands displaced, officials say the coming days will be critical for both emergency response and long-term recovery planning.
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