The double earthquake that devastated northern Venezuela has claimed the lives of almost 3,000 people, according to an updated provisional official death toll released on Saturday, as international rescue teams gradually draw down operations and shift focus away from searching for survivors.
The city of La Guaira, located about 40 kilometres from the capital Caracas, suffered the worst destruction after the twin earthquakes struck on 24 June. Dozens of buildings were flattened, while thousands of residents remain homeless, sheltering in parks or temporary accommodation.
"We continue working, continue finding bodies, we continue," 38-year-old volunteer rescuer and interpreter Francisco Saskia told AFP outside the Ocean Beach building in the Playa Grande district, where heavy machinery was clearing debris from collapsed structures.
"We still believe we can find people alive. We have not lost hope," he added, as rescue teams from Vietnam and Mexico prepared to leave the country.
Nearly 3,000 dead
According to the latest figures released by Venezuela's Ministry of Communication:
- 2,954 people have been killed
- 16,592 people have been injured
- More than 16,000 people have been left homeless
- At least 856 buildings were destroyed or severely damaged
The earthquakes, measuring 7.2 and 7.5 magnitude and occurring just 39 seconds apart, struck mainly in northern Venezuela, plunging the country into mourning and leaving many families still searching for missing relatives.
Search operations winding down
The number of foreign rescue personnel operating in La Guaira continues to decrease.
Teams from the United States, Chile and several other countries have begun preparations to return home, including firefighters from Los Angeles County and rescue specialists from Florida and Virginia, AFP reported.
Experts generally consider the window for locating survivors after major earthquakes to be around 72 hours.
Nevertheless, rescue workers achieved a remarkable breakthrough on Thursday when they pulled a man alive from the rubble after eight days, providing a rare moment of hope amid the tragedy.
Caracas also affected
The capital Caracas also suffered significant damage, with several buildings collapsing and others sustaining major structural damage.
However, the destruction there was far less severe than in La Guaira.
According to the United States Geological Survey (USGS), the 7.5-magnitude quake was the strongest recorded in Venezuela, a country of almost 30 million people, since 1900.
International solidarity
On Saturday, interim President Delcy Rodríguez awarded medals to rescuers who travelled to Venezuela from Britain, Qatar, France, India, Barbados, Brazil and Argentina.
Decorations were also presented to specially trained rescue dogs involved in efforts to locate trapped victims.
"This universal solidarity should inspire people all over the world," Rodríguez said during the ceremony.
The interim president, who assumed power after former president Nicolás Maduro was captured during a US military operation in Caracas in January, has faced criticism over the country's limited emergency response capacity before international teams arrived.
Families still waiting for answers
In the Caraballeda area of La Guaira state, many low-income families lived in twelve-storey apartment blocks known as Popular Power Projects 26 and 27.
Today, little remains except mountains of rubble.
Exhausted volunteers continue searching for victims as families wait desperately for news of loved ones.
"It feels like a horror film. We survived the war, but not nature," said volunteer Selida Sequera, 43, whose face and clothes were covered in dust.
She was assisting a friend who lost everything when the building housing his family collapsed.
His spouse and three children, aged six, ten and twelve, were asleep when the structure gave way.
The family has still not been found.
The Venezuelan government has not yet released an official number of missing persons.
The United Nations estimates that the figure could be as high as 50,000.
