- Tens of thousands of people remain missing in regions affected by the earthquake.
- Rescuers pull 33 survivors from collapsed buildings.
- International aid arrives with supplies, dogs and rescuers.
A man and his teenage son were found alive under rubble in Venezuela on Sunday, four days after two powerful earthquakes shook the country, as the death toll reached 1,450 and hopes for such rescues dwindled.
AFP Journalists watched French and American rescue teams carry the son and his father on stretchers from a mountain of rubble, both visibly exhausted and in shock, in the devastated coastal city of Caraballeda, about 40 kilometers north of Caracas.
Tens of thousands of people remain missing in a South American country already mired in economic crisis and political limbo after U.S. forces captured former President Nicolás Maduro in January.
Millions more people were feared to lack sanitation and other basic needs after one of Latin America's most devastating earthquakes.
Rescue teams from the United States, Mexico and elsewhere rushed to save people as desperate residents searched by hand for relatives trapped in the layers of cement and rubble of collapsed apartments.
Some 774 buildings were severely damaged by back-to-back magnitude 7.2 and 7.5 earthquakes that struck Wednesday night, including 189 buildings that completely collapsed, National Assembly President Jorge Rodriguez said Sunday.
In one of the most affected areas, the coastal city of La Guaira, Héctor Aguilera came to look for four members of his family buried in the rubble. Two other family members were rescued.
“We don't have the support to get our family out; we can't do it alone. They are buried there: we know they are dead, but here we are,” he said.
“We have no hope left; all I have are memories.”
Experts say the first 72 hours after natural disasters – a period that has already passed in Venezuela – are the tightest period to find people alive. After that, the search usually turns into body recovery.
In the Caracas neighborhood of San Bernardino, volunteer rescuers climbed a collapsed building, used drills to break up the concrete and formed lines to remove the debris by hand.
In Chacao, another area of the capital, large electronic screens in a building usually used for advertising displayed the faces of missing people in an attempt to help find them.
On Sunday, Rodríguez reported 1,450 deaths – a figure that is expected to increase – and 3,150 people injured.
'Source of hope'
Venezuela's interim president, Delcy Rodríguez, said on Saturday that rescuers had pulled 33 people from the ruins.
American helicopters brought in aid, but hopes of getting more people out alive were fading.
A Salvadoran lifeguard who did not want to give his name put it this way: “At this point, they are probably corpses. Thank God maybe we can find people still alive.”
An 11-year-old boy was rescued from the rubble on Saturday in Caraballeda, north of Caracas, Rodríguez said.
“Every life is a source of hope for Venezuela,” he said in a publication X accompanied by a video of the rescue.
In the face of public outrage over the response of local officials, Rodríguez thanked other countries for their great help.
Twenty-four countries have sent 521 tons of supplies, 86 units with dogs trained to locate people trapped under rubble and more than 2,700 search and rescue personnel, he said.
The United States said on Saturday that a runway at Simón Bolívar International Airport, which serves the capital, was partially functioning to receive US military aircraft, while a warship had arrived ashore. The United States has also sent a 250-strong disaster response team.
Economic impact
The U.N. migration agency said that based on population and damage data, up to 6.76 million people could be affected and would need shelter, water, sanitation, medical care and essential relief items.
Venezuela's worst earthquakes in more than a century came after the oil-rich country endured more than a decade of economic collapse.
The crisis has emptied hospitals and public services, forcing millions to leave the country.
The United Nations estimated $6.7 billion in physical damage from Wednesday's earthquakes, equivalent to 6% of Venezuela's GDP.
The government has restricted access to La Guaira state, deployed the military to the area and required volunteers to obtain a secure entry pass.
Anger among those eagerly waiting to volunteer grew as they waited for passes outside a concert hall in Caracas.
“You need a permit to save lives, imagine,” complained Carlos Itriago, 27 years old.
