LA GUAIRA, Venezuela (AP) — Efforts by local and international rescue teams to pull survivors from the rubble grew increasingly desperate in Venezuela on Sunday, four days after two powerful earthquakes shook the northern state of La Guaira.
The government reported more than 1,400 dead from the quakes Saturday as it faced growing criticism from Venezuelans that its response was inadequate and was overshadowed by civilian-led efforts to search for loved ones buried under collapsed buildings. Virtual databases used by families to report and find loved ones say thousands are still missing.
Acting President Delcy Rodriguez said on Sunday that 33 people had been rescued the day before, although she did not provide an updated death toll.
A U.S. rescue team from Virginia pulled a man and his son from the ruins Sunday morning and carried them carefully on a black tarp into an ambulance. Masses of people gathered to watch the rescue as the survivors — covered in dust — were hydrated through an IV.
Aid agencies consider the first 48 to 72 hours after a natural disaster as crucial for retrieving people alive, though that can be extended if they have access to food and water. More than 2,200 rescue workers from across the world had arrived by Saturday, the U.N. said, and more were still arriving.
As messages of solidarity with Venezuelans flooded in from across the world, Pope Leo offered prayers for “the eternal rest of the deceased.”
"Likewise, I express my gratitude and encouragement to all those who are generously working in the search and rescue efforts,” he said.
Tension mounts during rescue efforts
Rodríguez said on state television Saturday that more than 14,000 members of the military and police are patrolling the La Guaira state, where access is now blocked and special permits are required to enter. But many in disaster zones said they had seen little of their government.
The disaster poses a huge challenge for Rodríguez, the former vice president who took office in January after the U.S. capture and removal of then-President Nicolás Maduro. Venezuela has been facing economic disarray for more than a decade, and many people reject the legitimacy of the political movement Rodríguez represents.
Some people climbed the remnants of buildings and cried out names, hoping for any proof of life. Dust coated coastal communities. In punishing heat, more people wore masks as the stench of decomposition spread. In other parts of La Guaira, teams loaded stacks of bodies – some in white bags, other naked – onto white trucks from the ground of a dirt hospital parking lot, where they were being identified.
Without hard hats or other gear, rescuers and civilians instead wore motorcycle helmets as they searched piles of debris.
Some, frustrated by the government's response, blocked an excavator from leaving the site of a collapse and pulled the operator from its cabin shortly after state workers took selfies in front of flattened buildings and left without helping. The ruling party’s officials often take selfies to show participation in government-related events.
Searches mix with uncertainty
The International Organization for Migration said over 6 million people could be affected, some 2 million in the capital, Caracas, alone.
Experts said the destruction was amplified by the quick succession of shallow quakes. For days, smaller aftershocks occasionally shook the capital, Caracas and areas hit by the quakes, including one measuring 4.8 on Saturday.
Search teams and foreign aid continued to arrive from Mexico, the U.S., Brazil, El Salvador, France and elsewhere.
On Saturday, Mexican rescue teams climbed over collapsed buildings and pushed their heads into holes in the pancaked concrete to search for signs of life, occasionally hearing movement.
“We're rescuers from the Mexican military, if there's anyone down there still alive, make noise or scream. Now!" one man shouted.
A glimmer of hope
For many, the images of international aid teams arriving and climbing through the rubble alongside them offered a glimmer of hope. Yonahí Regalado has been calling out the names of her sister and 1-year-old nephew and godson since 1 a.m. the day after the earthquakes until aid workers began to arrive.
“It doesn’t matter who it is, whoever, whether it’s family or somebody else. If there is anyone alive, let’s get them out,” she said, as helicopters circled overhead.
Small moments of humanity mixed with grief and terror.
One video showed a Venezuelan rescuer comforting an elderly woman trapped beneath the rubble, scared that the structure would cave in if she moved.
“The roof won’t cave in. If it falls, I’ll be here with you,” he said.
Simón Bolívar International Airport, which serves Caracas, was badly damaged. One runway was operational as U.S. teams worked to repair the crucial throughway, Jeremy Lewin, a senior State Department official in charge of foreign assistance, told reporters.
Lewin said a U.S. Navy transport ship was docked off the coast, ready to receive airlifted survivors in need of medical attention. Lewin said it is a “race against the clock” to find people injured in the quakes.
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Janetsky reported from Mexico City. Associated Press journalist Matías Delacroix, Clara Preve and Ali Swenson contributed to this report.
