LA GUAIRA, Venezuela, June 28, 2026 (BSS/AFP) - Rescue crews raced Sunday to 
find survivors in the rubble of Venezuela's powerful earthquakes as the death 
toll reached 1,430 and hopes dwindled more than three days after the earth 
roared and rumbled.

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 forces captured former president 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 Salvadoran rescue worker 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, north of 
Caracas, on Saturday, three days after the magnitude 7.2 and 7.5 tremors, 
interim leader Delcy Rodriguez said.

"Every life is a source of hope for Venezuela," she said in a post on X, 
accompanied by a video of the rescue.

Facing public outrage at the response by local officials, Rodriguez thanked 
other countries for the outpouring of aid.

Twenty-four countries have sent 521 tonnes of supplies, 86 units with dogs 
trained to locate people trapped beneath the rubble and more than 2,700 
search-and-rescue personnel, she said.

UN aid chief Tom Fletcher told AFP on Friday that the death toll could 
continue to soar, adding that more than 50,000 people were missing.

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 unorganized," said Australian firefighter 
Craig Demeillon, 43, who traveled alone to La Guaira from Miami to help. 
"Hopefully there's more people to find."

- Newborn rescued -

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.

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 United Nations estimated $6.7 billion in 
physical damage -- equivalent to six percent of Venezuela's GDP.

Foreign nationals confirmed dead include 28 Portuguese, nine Spaniards, seven 
Chinese, two Brazilians, one Chilean, one Italian-Venezuelan and one 
Uruguayan.

- 'Permit to save lives' -

Venezuelans -- already battered by years of a failing economy and the 
turbulence of the US intervention to topple Maduro -- 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, told AFP, 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 required 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," complained 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?"

- Venezuela already in trouble -

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 United States said one runway at Simon Bolivar International Airport was 
partially functioning to receive US military planes, while a naval ship had 
arrived off the coast.

It said earlier it was sending a disaster response team of more than 250 
personnel, including three special search-and-rescue units with dogs.

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.