Young girl sole survivor in building collapse as Venezuela earthquake death toll rises
A young girl has been rescued after spending several hours trapped beneath the rubble of a collapsed building in La Guaira, one of the areas hardest hit by the powerful earthquakes that struck Venezuela.
Footage showed rescuers, emergency personnel and volunteers carefully removing concrete and metal debris after detecting signs of life beneath the collapsed structure. The girl was brought to safety and immediately transferred to a medical centre for treatment.
Her uncle said the family had suffered multiple losses in the disaster.
“I lost relatives here today. Everything happened very fast, the three apartments were blown away, the whole street, the whole block is reduced to rubble. Thank God they are rescuing a niece, she is the only one we have alive right now,” he said.
The rescue followed hours of coordinated efforts by specialised emergency teams and volunteers working at the site.
Search-and-rescue operations remain underway across La Guaira, where numerous buildings have suffered partial or complete collapse. Authorities continue to deploy heavy machinery, canine search units and specialised rescue personnel in an effort to locate more survivors.
Venezuela’s National Assembly President Jorge Rodríguez said on Thursday that the death toll had risen to 188, with 1,520 people injured. He added that 157 people remain missing and another 200 are still believed to be trapped beneath collapsed structures.
This story is written and edited by the Global South World team, you can contact us here.
