Emergency crews on Sunday intensified efforts to locate survivors following the twin earthquakes that devastated Venezuela earlier this week, as occasional rescues offered hope amid an increasingly difficult search for thousands still missing.
The fatalities from Wednesday’s powerful 7.2 and 7.5 magnitude tremors have climbed to nearly 1,500, with La Guaira state suffering the heaviest destruction.
Numerous international rescue teams have joined local responders in the coastal region, where entire buildings were reduced to rubble roughly 40 kilometres north of Caracas.
Interim President Delcy Rodriguez said search activities would continue after several people were found alive on Sunday.
”Recovery work remains underway.
We have successfully located survivors today, so there is no reason to halt operations. Hope remains alive,”
Rodriguez stated while announcing the formation of a presidential commission to inspect damaged structures and determine which buildings remain safe for occupation.
She also confirmed that schools would remain closed for another week, while electricity service in La Guaira had been restored to approximately 75 percent.
Rodriguez’s administration, which assumed power after the removal of the previous president during a U.S. operation in January, initially praised volunteers transporting humanitarian supplies into the disaster zone.
Authorities later imposed tighter restrictions on access roads, explaining that heavy traffic was slowing the movement of emergency vehicles.
National Assembly President Jorge Rodriguez reported that the number of confirmed deaths increased by 20 on Sunday, bringing the total to 1,450. He said 3,150 people had sustained injuries, 12,721 residents had been displaced, and 774 buildings had collapsed.
He stressed that the coming hours would be critical both for locating additional survivors and establishing temporary shelters for families whose homes had been destroyed or declared unsafe.
Before foreign rescue specialists arrived, relatives and volunteers spent several days digging through debris with limited equipment, frequently expressing frustration over the shortage of heavy machinery and the limited government response.
Hundreds of aftershocks have further weakened damaged structures and heightened fears among residents.
Government officials said at least 33 people had been rescued alive by Saturday evening, including several children.
Among Sunday’s rescues, a father and his son were pulled from the wreckage of a collapsed apartment block.
Although officials estimate that hundreds remain trapped or missing, an opposition-supported online registry listed just under 50,000 people as unaccounted for on Sunday, down from 55,000 recorded the previous day.
The U.S. Geological Survey warned that the eventual death toll could exceed 10,000, potentially making the disaster one of the deadliest earthquakes in modern Latin American history.
Sebastian Eugster, who heads the Swiss rescue contingent, explained that the first 72 hours following a major earthquake represent the most critical period for finding survivors.
His 80-member team located several people beneath collapsed structures after search dogs detected signs of life.
However, rescuers were unable to reach them before they succumbed to their injuries.
Saturday evening marked the end of that crucial 72-hour window.
The U.S. State Department highlighted the successful rescue of an infant by American emergency personnel on Saturday, sharing footage showing the child being safely removed from the debris.
Colombian responders also saved an 11-year-old boy named Moises, who had been buried approximately three metres beneath the rubble. He was extracted with a fractured arm and his eyes covered to shield them from sunlight. Officials confirmed that his mother and sister died in the collapse.
Meanwhile, Mexican rescue workers operating in the town of Caraballeda recovered another 11-year-old boy alive from the ruins of a fallen building.
During the Angelus prayer in Rome on Sunday, Pope Leo expressed solidarity with Venezuelans affected by the catastrophe and praised rescue personnel for their dedication.
A senior U.S. official disclosed that Washington is preparing an additional humanitarian assistance package worth several hundred million dollars, supplementing the $150 million already pledged by the Trump administration.
Opposition leader and Nobel Peace Prize recipient Maria Corina Machado announced plans to return to Venezuela after months abroad.
She had remained in hiding following the disputed 2024 presidential election before leaving the country in December to receive her Nobel Prize.
However, a White House official told Reuters that senior U.S. officials believe her planned return is premature given the scale of the ongoing emergency.
By: Magdalene Agyeiwaa Sarpong