Search for survivors of twin Venezuela earthquakes enters ‘critical hours’
Rescue crews continue to search through the rubble of collapsed buildings in Venezuela as the hope of finding more survivors dwindles five days after two massive earthquakes rocked the country.
“We recovered people alive today,” Acting President Delcy Rodríguez said during a televised news conference on Sunday. “Therefore, the rescue operations will not be suspended.”
Jorge Rodríguez, the leader of Venezuela’s National Assembly, said the death toll has now reached 1,450, with 3,150 people injured and 12,721 displaced. The death toll is still expected to rise.
“We are in critical hours, crucial hours,” he said.
Jorge Rodríguez added that 774 buildings had been damaged or destroyed, including 189 that completely collapsed.
Challenges in La Guaira
In the state of La Guaira, Venezuela’s hardest-hit area, officials say rescue efforts are being hampered by civilians with relief supplies and volunteers.
They say the influx of people trying to help is clogging the only highway into the region, leaving many rescue workers stuck in traffic. They’re trying to limit rescue efforts to only those authorized to help, but civilians who are frustrated with the government’s disaster response continue to pour in.
Meanwhile, more than 430 aftershocks have been felt throughout the region since Wednesday, prompting many people in La Guaira to sleep outside, fearing more buildings could fall, according to The New York Times.
Acting President Rodríguez said Sunday that electricity had been restored to 75% of La Guaira, water to 68% and road access to 90%.
Survivors search for loved ones
People have been gathering at Venezuela’s National Service of Forensic Medicine, the state-run morgue in Caracas, trying to find loved ones who have been missing since the Wednesday quakes. Officials there are displaying photos of unidentified victims in hopes someone will recognize them.
Doctors there told The Times that the morgue is receiving 40 to 80 bodies a day. They added that officials in La Guaira are processing about 750 bodies per day and that roughly 50 forensic workers commute from Caracas every day to help.
Doctors say it has been especially difficult to identify victims because many were crushed in collapsed buildings. Forensics specialists are using fingerprints to help identify victims while loved ones are using identifying marks like tattoos and moles.
At the Caracas morgue, 150 bodies remained unclaimed as of Sunday afternoon, including 130 who had yet to be identified. The two doctors at the Caracas morgue said the
Officials say the morgue in Caracas is offering free cremations to affected families and that officials have not ruled out the use of mass graves, according to The Times.
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Ella Rae Greene, Editor In Chief
