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Agence France-Presse

An 11-year-old boy was rescued from the rubble more than three days after twin earthquakes struck Venezuela, as rescuers on Saturday raced to find survivors and the death toll reached 1,430.
Tens of thousands of people were reported missing as collapsed buildings dotted cities in a country already enduring an economic crisis and political upheaval after US special forces captured authoritarian leader Nicolas Maduro in January.
Millions of people were also feared to lack sanitation and other basic needs.
Experts say the first 72 hours after natural disasters are the key, narrow window for finding the living. After that the search becomes one of recovering bodies.
A Salvadorean rescuer who declined to give his name put it this way: “At this point, they are probably dead bodies. Thanks to God, maybe we can find people still alive.”
An 11-year-old boy was rescued from the rubble in Caraballeda, in the north of the country, late on Saturday, interim leader Delcy Rodriguez said.
“Every life is a source of hope for Venezuela,” she said in a post on social media, accompanied by a video of the rescue.
Facing public outrage at the response by local officials, US-backed Rodriguez thanked other countries for the outpouring of aid.
The United States said one runway at Simon Bolivar International Airport was partially functioning to receive C-17 US military planes, while a naval ship had arrived off the coast.

The search for survivors saw desperate attempts by local residents to claw away rubble from buildings that collapsed in Wednesday’s two quakes.
“It’s just very chaotic, hot and unorganised,” said Australian firefighter Craig Demeillon, 43, who travelled alone to La Guaira from Miami to help. “Hopefully there’s more people to find.”
UN aid chief Tom Fletcher on Friday said the death toll could continue to soar, adding that more than 50,000 people were missing.
There was joy in the hardest-hit coastal area of La Guaira, north of Caracas, when locals pulled an infant alive out of the wreckage on Friday, around 32 hours after the magnitude 7.2 and 7.5 tremors.
In one social media video, a man welled up in tears as he held the baby in his arms.
The UN migration agency said it had examined available population and damage data and had determined that “up to 6.76 million people could be affected”, and would “require emergency shelter, safe water, sanitation and hygiene services, healthcare, protection support and essential relief items”.
National Assembly president Jorge Rodriguez reported on Saturday 1,430 dead and 3,238 people injured, while the UN estimated US$6.7 billion in physical damage – equivalent to 6 per cent of Venezuela’s gross domestic product.
Venezuelans, already battered by years of a failing economy and the turbulence of the US intervention to topple Maduro in January, were furious at the government.
Yessica Mendoza was forced to transport her own daughter to a morgue in Caracas after 25-year-old Yesimar Rodriguez and her husband Jhomel Anaya, 26, did not survive the tumbling debris of their home in La Guaira on Wednesday.
“We were the ones who pulled them out ourselves. No help ever came,” the bereaved mother, 43, said, adding that the couple would be cremated without a wake due to the rapidly advancing decomposition of their bodies.


The government has restricted access to La Guaira state, deployed the military to the area and made it obligatory for volunteers to obtain a safe-entry pass.
Anger among those impatiently waiting to volunteer surged as they waited for passes outside a concert hall in the capital.
“You need a permit to save lives – just imagine,” said Carlos Itriago, 27.
“I’ve been here since dawn standing in line so I can go rescue people,” said Ezequiel Rivero, 53.
“Look at what time it is … how many lives have we already lost by now?”
Rodriguez said she had spoken with US President Donald Trump and Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who “reaffirmed their commitment to supporting the response efforts”.
The US said earlier it was sending a disaster response team of more than 250 personnel, including three special search-and-rescue units with dogs trained to locate people trapped beneath the rubble.
Twenty-one countries were sending search-and-rescue teams, parliament chief Rodriguez said.

Venezuela’s worst earthquakes in more than a century have come after the oil-rich country endured more than a decade of economic collapse.
The crisis has hollowed out hospitals and public services, driving millions to leave the country.
And the country remains in a fragile political transition six months after the US capture of Maduro.
Earthquakes of similar magnitude claimed more than 200,000 lives in Haiti in January 2010 and 73,000 lives in Kashmir in October 2005.
Those killed in Venezuela included 28 Portuguese nationals, six Spaniards, two Brazilians, seven Chinese nationals, one Chilean, one Italian-Venezuelan and one Uruguayan.


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Natural disasters

Venezuelan boy pulled alive from rubble 3 days after deadly quakes

A US military helicopter takes off after delivering humanitarian aid in La Guaira, Venezuela, on Saturday. Photo: AP

People carry a boy after he was rescued from under the rubble of a building in La Guaira, Venezuela, on Thursday. Photo: Reuters

People queue for donated food and drinks in Caraballeda, Venezuela, on Saturday. Photo: PA

Time runs out for thousands missing after Venezuela earthquakes

Residents and rescue workers search through the rubble two days after an earthquake struck in La Guaira, Venezuela, on Friday. Photo: AP

French officers of the 7th Civil Security Training and Response Regiment prepare their baggage before flying to Venezuela to provide help after two earthquakes hit the country, at the Marseille Provence Airport in Marignane, southern France, on Saturday. Photo: Reuters

A cat sits in a pet carrier next to its owner, who sleeps on a pedestrian street out of fear of aftershocks, following earthquakes that hit the country, in Caracas, Venezuela, on Saturday. Photo: Reuters

Members of a Mexican rescue team huddle as they prepare to depart for Venezuela, following two earthquakes, at Benito Juarez international airport in Mexico City, Mexico on Friday. Photo: Reuters

Venezuela earthquakes death toll rises to 920, other nations rush to help

Neighbours and relatives work to rescue a person from the rubble of a building in La Guaira, Venezuela, after two earthquakes hit the country. Photo: Reuters

A large pile of rubble from a collapsed Venezuela building in Los Corales, La Guaira state, is seen following Wednesday’s devastating earthquakes. Photo: AFP

Venezuela’s interim President Delcy Rodriguez (wearing glasses) visits an area affected by Wednesday’s earthquakes. Photo: AFP

A woman cries, believing a family member is trapped in rubble, after earthquakes hit Venezuela on Wednesday. Photo: Reuters

Ecuadorian firefighters get ready to board a plane early on Friday, bound for Venezuela, to help with rescue efforts after Wednesday’s devastating earthquakes. Photo: AFP

Emergency personnel rescue a person from the rubble of a collapsed residential building following two earthquakes in Venezuela. Photo: Social media via Reuters

Former president Nicolas Maduro, pictured in December, was removed from power in Venezuela in January during a stunning raid by US special forces. Photo: AFP

Venezuela earthquakes draw aid from governments that cut ties with Caracas

Neighbours carry a man from the rubble of a collapsed building in La Guaira, Venezuela. Photo: AP

Members of a specialised unit of the Chilean fire department, bound for Venezuela. Photo: Reuters

Salvadorean military with sniffer dogs before departure. Photo: AFP

US-led relief effort puts Washington’s post-Maduro strategy in Venezuela to the test

People walk and ride past collapsed structures and debris following an earthquake in Catia La Mar, Venezuela, on Wednesday. Photo: AFP

US Marine Corps Major General Kevin Jarrard is welcomed following his arrival in Caracas, Venezuela on Friday to oversee US teams supporting relief operations following two earthquakes. Photo: via Reuters

Motorcyclists ride past a collapsed building after an earthquake in La Guaira, Venezuela, on Wednesday. Photo: Reuters

People take cover after an earthquake at Simon Bolivar International Airport in Maiquetia, Venezuela, on Wednesday. Photo: Reuters  

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Residents clawed away rubble from collapsed buildings in search of survivors, amid public outrage over the government’s response


Residents clawed away rubble from collapsed buildings in search of survivors, amid public outrage over the government’s response.


Venezuelan boy pulled alive from rubble 3 days after deadly quakes

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}Residents clawed away rubble from collapsed buildings in search of survivors, amid public outrage over the government’s response

Residents clawed away rubble from collapsed buildings in search of survivors, amid public outrage over the government’s response