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🇮🇱 Israel /Disasters & Emergencies

Silence in the rubble: Venezuela earthquake survivors sought amid fading hope

From Jerusalem Post · () English

Translated from English, summarized and contextualized by DistantNews.

At a glance

News Named sources Ongoing story
  • Rescuers in Venezuela's La Guaira state continue a desperate search for survivors of twin earthquakes that destroyed housing complexes.
  • International rescue teams have halted operations at some sites after losing hope of finding survivors beyond the critical 72-hour window.
  • The scale of the humanitarian need is immense, with tens of thousands missing and makeshift morgues processing bodies.

In the dusty, debris-strewn landscape of Venezuela's La Guaira state, the silence is broken only by the occasional cellphone ring or a rescuer's shout. For ten minutes, people stand on the road beside the ruins of the Los Cocos housing complex, straining to hear any sign of life from the rubble. Last week's twin earthquakes reduced eight towers to rubble, and the arduous search for survivors and the dead continues.

In the end, we believe the days have already passed and that what we will find now is death.

— Major Jorge MontaneroLeader of the EQ11 rescue team from Ecuador, explaining why their operation to find a mother and her three children trapped in rubble was halted.

Rescuers, including specialized teams from Mexico, tunnel through concrete slabs, signaling for quiet as they listen for any response. At one site in Macuto, rescue teams from Ecuador and the US halted operations after more than 40 hours of trying to reach a mother and her three children. "In the end, we believe the days have already passed and that what we will find now is death," said Major Jorge Montanero, leader of the EQ11 team.

The scale of the response does not meet the scale of humanitarian need.

— International Rescue Committee (IRC)A statement highlighting the disparity between the ongoing rescue efforts and the vast number of people affected by the earthquakes.

The International Rescue Committee (IRC) stated that tens of thousands remain missing, with survival chances dropping sharply after the critical 72-hour window. "The scale of the response does not meet the scale of humanitarian need," the IRC warned. At a makeshift morgue in La Guaira, families await formal identification of remains, their grief compounded by the long wait and the continued uncertainty for missing loved ones.

It's been so painful, a very long wait.

— Andrea MontillaA family member awaiting the identification of her cousin and grandmother at a makeshift morgue.
DistantNews Editorial

Originally published by Jerusalem Post in English. Translated, summarized, and contextualized by our editorial team with added local perspective. Read our editorial standards.

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