Tensions escalated on Saturday in Venezuela’s La Guaira state as rescuers and residents continued searching for earthquake survivors while the death toll climbed to 1,430.
Three days after powerful 7.2 and 7.5-magnitude earthquakes struck Venezuela, families reported that at least 68,900 people remained missing on Saturday as rescue efforts continued.
Across La Guaira, one of the worst-affected states, residents searched tirelessly for missing relatives and neighbors, using shovels, heavy machinery, ropes, and even their bare hands to clear the debris. International rescue teams also joined the operation, offering renewed hope to families anxiously awaiting news of their loved ones.
Public frustration intensified over what many viewed as an inadequate government response. Critics said emergency personnel, including soldiers, firefighters, police officers, and military cadets, appeared overwhelmed by the scale of the disaster. The anger was further fueled by official efforts to portray the response as more effective than many residents believed it to be.
Aid organizations consider the first 48 to 72 hours after a disaster to be the most critical for finding survivors, although that window can be extended if those trapped have access to food and water. Venezuelan authorities said that by Saturday, 17 flights carrying more than 1,600 rescue personnel had arrived to support search and recovery operations.
As the 72-hour mark since the earthquakes passed, a growing sense of urgency gripped rescue teams and families alike. With each passing minute, hopes of finding more survivors alive continued to diminish, underscoring the race against time.
Speaking in the coastal town of Caraballeda, Mileidy Romero described the grim situation as rescue efforts continued. She said several bodies, including those of newborn babies, had been found in the debris.
Romero alleged that some people trapped under the rubble were still alive the previous evening but had not yet been rescued. She also claimed that despite locating multiple bodies, authorities had not assisted in recovering them, expressing frustration over what she described as delays in the rescue operation.
Tensions Rise Amid Ongoing Rescue Efforts
Acting President Delcy Rodríguez said on state television that more than 14,000 military personnel and police officers had been deployed to patrol the affected areas. She added that access to the disaster zone had been restricted, with entry allowed only through special permits. However, many residents in the hardest-hit communities said they had seen little sign of government assistance.
Across the devastated areas, desperate families climbed over the remains of collapsed buildings, calling out the names of missing loved ones in the hope of hearing a response. A thick layer of dust covered coastal neighborhoods, while soaring temperatures and the growing odor of decomposing bodies prompted many people to wear face masks. Elsewhere in La Guaira, recovery teams transported rows of bodies – some placed in white body bags and others uncovered – to white trucks from a temporary hospital parking area, where the victims were being identified.
Lacking proper safety equipment, many rescuers and volunteers searched through the rubble wearing motorcycle helmets instead of protective gear. The debris was filled with personal belongings that once belonged to families, including DVDs, kitchen fixtures, mattresses, and shoes.
Frustration over the government’s response boiled over when residents stopped an excavator from leaving the site of a collapsed building and pulled its operator from the cab. Witnesses said the confrontation occurred after state workers reportedly took photographs in front of the destroyed structures and departed without taking part in the rescue efforts. Critics accused ruling party officials of using such images to project their presence at disaster sites.
Nearby, several bodies wrapped in blankets lay waiting to be recovered. Yeison Marcano, one of the volunteers at the scene, said those searching for survivors had received limited support from an investigative unit but claimed that neither the police nor the National Guard had assisted with the rescue operation.
Yeison Marcano accused government workers of focusing on appearances rather than rescue efforts, claiming they stopped only to eat and take photographs before leaving. He said volunteers had spent the past three days working continuously in the debris, unlike the officials who, he alleged, had made little effort to assist.
Moments later, emotions boiled over when a man attempted to confront a firefighter, shouting in anger before rescuers called for silence so they could listen for any signs of survivors trapped beneath the rubble.
Elsewhere, emergency teams pulled an elderly man alive from the ruins of a public housing building. Appearing confused and exhausted, he pleaded with a nurse for water before resisting efforts to place him into a pickup truck, repeatedly crying out for his family.