Swiss Rescuers Battle Time in Venezuela After Major Earthquakes

Swiss rescue teams are engaged in a desperate race against time in Venezuela's La Guaira state, four days after devastating earthquakes struck the region. The hope of finding more survivors is diminishing as the scale of the disaster becomes increasingly apparent.

The Swiss Rescue Chain has established a base camp in the José María Vargas baseball stadium in La Guaira, a coastal state that bore the brunt of the seismic activity. They are working alongside international rescue teams from Ecuador, France, and Italy, as well as numerous other nations that have dispatched aid. In total, approximately 1,600 foreign experts are reported to have arrived in Venezuela.

“

You drive for a long time through intact residential areas without any damage, and suddenly no house is standing anymore. These are high-rise buildings and also individual structures that are now just piles of rubble.

Michael Fichter, a deputy team leader for the Swiss contingent, described the scene as one of catastrophic destruction. He noted that while some residential areas remain intact, others have been reduced to rubble, with entire buildings collapsed. The Swiss team, part of the Swiss Corps for Humanitarian Aid, was among the first European responders, with an advance detachment arriving shortly after the earthquakes to assess needs and prepare for the main rescue contingent.

However, the deployment has faced significant logistical hurdles. The main group of nearly 80 rescuers and eight search dogs arrived a day later than planned at a provincial airport due to damage at the international airport. Furthermore, the journey to the crisis zone is severely hampered by traffic congestion. The main highway connecting the airport to Caracas and La Guaira is completely blocked by people searching for loved ones or attempting to assist, a common occurrence after earthquakes that overwhelms transportation networks.

“

It's always like this with earthquakes. People want to be supportive and help, but they also overload the transport routes.