An 11-year-old boy named Moises was pulled from about 3 metres of debris over the weekend – one of 33 people rescued alive since two powerful earthquakes struck Venezuela on Wednesday. Rescuers overheard on a walkie-talkie that the boy was found near his sister and mother, who had both died.
Hours later, interim President Delcy Rodríguez posted a video on X purportedly showing the rescue of a second 11-year-old boy in the town of Caraballeda. The two rescues came as the critical 72-hour window for finding survivors closed, with at least 1,450 people killed in what Rodríguez called the "most brutal natural catastrophe" in Venezuela's history.
“Two 11-year-old boys among 33 rescued alive; at least 1,450 dead; tens of thousands missing.”
But tens of thousands remain missing, and relatives face a fifth night without news. The earthquakes – magnitude 7.2 and 7.5 striking 39 seconds apart – caused almost 800 buildings to collapse, trapping many inside. Desperate families have been digging through debris by hand, unable to move heavy concrete slabs while waiting for heavy machinery that has been slow to arrive.
A firefighter working in Caraballeda told the BBC: "There aren't enough hands. And it is very, very likely that there are still people trapped." Frustration is growing among hundreds of thousands of affected Venezuelans, with many accusing the state of a slow and unco-ordinated response. In Catia La Mar, La Guaira – one of the worst-hit areas – people said it has been communities themselves pulling together.
In La Guaira, Channel 4 News reported on two brothers desperately trying to recover the bodies of their sister and nieces from the rubble. Though the crucial 48- to 72-hour window has passed, rescuers said people could still be found alive if they had access to food and water.
The search for survivors is not over – but for countless families, the wait continues.