Rescue workers in Venezuela have continued operations for a fifth day after two powerful earthquakes killed more than 1,450 people, with teams from Venezuela and several other countries searching through the night for tens of thousands still believed to be trapped under rubble.
“If there are still survivors under the rubble, every second counts for them now,” said Simone Walter, emergency relief coordinator at the aid organization Help, on Monday. “From our experience of previous earthquakes, we know that only around 10% of all missing people can still be rescued alive – time is running out.”
Search operations have been hampered by numerous aftershocks. On Monday morning, a magnitude-4.6 earthquake struck off the Venezuelan coast, according to the US Geological Survey (USGS).
Spectacular rescues give cause for hope
In some cases, people trapped under collapsed buildings had sustained no injuries, the leader of a Colombian rescue team told Venezuelan state television overnight, saying such situations offered hope.
It was clear, however, that every hour without water or food reduced the chances of survival.
A man was found alive even after 106 hours, Venezuela’s acting president, Delcy Rodríguez, wrote on the social media platform X.
The official death toll from the magnitude 7.2 and 7.5 earthquakes has risen to at least 1,450, National Assembly President Jorge Rodríguez said on Sunday. Around 3,200 people have been injured.