Rescue efforts suspended at San Judas Tadeo building in El Paraíso due to fire

Rescue and salvage operations at the San Judas Tadeo building in Caracas were halted Friday after an explosion and subsequent fire erupted within the structure. The incident occurred in the Las Fuentes sector of El Paraíso, a western Caracas neighborhood. Emergency teams were actively working to locate and extract potential survivors from the rubble of the building, which had sustained severe damage from the magnitude 7.2 and 7.5 earthquakes that struck Venezuela on June 24. The explosion and fire prompted immediate suspension of operations by authorities. The decision was made to allow for an assessment of the site's safety and stability, aiming to mitigate additional risks for the rescue personnel deployed at ground zero in the Venezuelan capital. Preliminary assessments by fire departments and Civil Protection suggest a possible leak of domestic gas through the building's collapsed pipelines as the cause of the explosion. No injuries or fatalities have been reported thus far due to this specific incident.