Venezuelan earthquake rescuers save 3yo boy after six days under rubble

A three-year-old boy has been pulled alive from beneath rubble six days after Venezuela's devastating earthquakes, a moment of hope amid widespread destruction.

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We must hold onto the hope of continuing to find people alive beneath the rubble.

Klieber Moran was extracted from a collapsed building in La Guaira state by Jordanian rescuers, Venezuela's Acting President Delcy Rodríguez announced via Telegram. Video footage showed rescuers cheering as they discovered the child, who subsequently received first aid and was taken to hospital. The Jordanian civil defense confirmed the boy's vital signs were good.

The rescue comes as preliminary estimates indicate nearly 60,000 buildings across Venezuela were destroyed or damaged. The twin earthquakes, magnitudes 7.2 and 7.5, struck on June 24, trapping thousands. National Assembly President Jorge Rodriguez reported that 6,461 people had been rescued since the quakes, with the death toll rising to 1,943.

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They give out supplies here, but sometimes people nearly kill each other for food … it's like a cockfight.

Amid the ongoing crisis, tens of thousands of Venezuelans continue to seek food and shelter. The UN refugee agency noted that "food shortages are widespread, basic services have broken down and connectivity has been largely severed" in La Guaira, with one resident describing desperate struggles for supplies.

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food shortages are widespread, basic services have broken down and connectivity has been largely severed