Hope of finding more Venezuela quake survivors fades despite late rescues

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No new death toll was released on Sunday, with officials saying on Saturday that 1,430 people were confirmed dead, following the back-to-back 7.2 and 7.5 magnitude earthquakes which hit near the coastal area of La Guiara on Wednesday. Late Saturday marked 72 hours since the devastating quakes, the period when authorities said trapped people were expected to survive. More than 50,000 have been reported missing. A handful of rescues on Sunday offered glimmers of hope. They included a 60-year-old woman saved from the rubble of a building in the coastal area of Carabayida. She had been trapped for 86 hours. In a post on X, El Salvador’s President Nayib Bukele said rescue teams deployed by his country and by Peru worked for eleven hours to rescue the woman. She had been taken to a hospital in Caracas for treatment, where her condition remained “delicate”, he said. “This achievement was made possible thanks to the effort and perseverance of our rescuers, who worked tirelessly throughout the night and early morning hours, with the support of Peruvian USAR rescuers,” Bukele said. A US rescue team from Virginia pulled a man and his son from the ruins on Sunday morning and carried them on a black tarpaulin into an ambulance, according to the Associated Press news agency. US officials reported late Saturday that an infant had been rescued from a collapsed building, with Colombian and Mexican officials saying two 11-year-old boys had been rescued in separate operations. Venezuela’s interim president, Delcy Rodriguez, said Sunday that at least 33 people had been rescued over the weekend, as the UN said 2,200 members of foreign rescue teams were working across the country. More than 14,000 members of the military and police were patrolling La Guaira state, where access was now blocked and special permits required to enter, Rodriguez said. Criticism over the Venezuelan government’s response has mounted. In one instance, residents blocked an excavator from leaving the site of a collapsed building and pulled the operator from its cabin shortly after state workers took selfies in front of flattened buildings, then left without helping, reported Associated Press. Standing outside a collapsed building in the Los Palos Grandes neighbourhood of Caracas, Al Jazeera’s Noris Soto said a Mexican rescue team was still hoping to find survivors as volunteers helped gather personal belongings scattered within the destruction. “Here, at least 20 people are still under the rubble,” Soto said. “You can see here how the rescuers, the international rescuers and the civilian volunteers are the ones who are doing the job and facing this crisis,” she added. Reporting from Catia La Mar in La Guaira, Al Jazeera’s Teresa Bo said family members had marked several collapsed homes where they have been unable to recover the bodies of their loved ones. “The relatives are waiting for them outside for their bodies to be retrieved,” Bo said. She added that aid, including water and food distributions, had only just started to reach the hard-hit area, where many residents continue to camp outside. “What’s happening here is a major test for the international community,” Bo said. She also described the disaster as a “big test” for the government of Delcy Rodriguez, who assumed the presidency following the US military abduction of President Nicolas Maduro in January. Rodriguez has vowed to be an agent of change in a country that has long contended with overlapping economic and humanitarian crises. She has cooperated closely with the administration of US President Donald Trump. Washington has sent rescue teams, while pledging $150m in support of the response by the UN and other humanitarian groups. European Union foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said on Sunday that the bloc had mobilised five million ‌‌euros ($5.7 million) in emergency assistance. The EU’s Copernicus satellite system was helping map the damage and direct assistance to the areas most in need, she added. Speaking to worshippers in Rome on Saturday, Pope Leo offered prayers for “the eternal rest of the deceased”. “Likewise, I express my gratitude and encouragement to all those who are generously working in the search and rescue efforts,” he said. 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