Critical rescue window passes in quake-hit Venezuela as death toll nears 1,500
While a 21-year-old man was found alive after 106 hours trapped under rubble, hopes are fading for thousands of people unaccounted for
The critical 72-hour window for finding survivors of the powerful twin earthquakes that struck Venezuela had mostly closed by Monday, leaving international teams facing a grim race against time to pull anyone else alive from the debris.
The death toll has surpassed 1,450 and nearly 200 buildings have completely collapsed.
On Monday, Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele shared the rescue of 21-year-old Aaron Levi from a collapsed building in the disaster-stricken state of La Guaira.
“This rescue was made possible thanks to the coordinated efforts of rescue teams from Venezuela, Mexico, and El Salvador,” he said on X.
Venezuela’s interim president, Delcy Rodriguez, also echoed Levi’s story, explaining that he was pulled out after 106 hours trapped under the rubble via a rescue operation that lasted 43 hours.
On Sunday, a man and his teenage son were found alive under rubble by French and American rescue teams in Caraballeda, a town about 40 km north of Caracas.