Milan, 29 June (LaPresse/AP) – Local and international rescue teams are continuing their race against time to extract survivors from the rubble caused by the violent earthquake that struck Venezuela. A huge crowd has gathered around a mountain of rubble, watching as rescue teams from the United States, France and Venezuela extract a man and his son from a crack in the concrete, covered in dust and almost unconscious. The teams, wearing helmets, carried them on a black sheet and carefully guided them through the crowd to an ambulance to rehydrate them via a drip. The rescue teams and onlookers burst into a round of relieved applause, before resuming rescue operations. Although the likelihood of finding survivors was diminishing by the hour, the rescuers continued to free a few survivors from the mountains of rubble, offering a glimmer of hope to the distraught families. Venezuela’s acting president, Delcy Rodríguez, stated on Sunday evening that, although the critical threshold had been passed, the search for survivors would continue. According to government reports, over 2,600 rescue workers from around the world have arrived on site with trained search dogs and equipment. The double earthquake, measuring 7.2 and 7.5 on the Richter scale, which struck last Wednesday, has left a trail of devastation in its wake. The United Nations has stated that up to 6.8 million of Venezuela’s nearly 30 million inhabitants may have been affected by the earthquakes. On Sunday, the authorities reported that over 770 buildings had collapsed, either completely or partially, as a result of the earthquakes.
Venezuela: Rescuers save father and child from the rubble
Milan, 29 June (LaPresse/AP) – Local and international rescue teams are continuing their race against time to extract survivors from the rubble caused by the violent earthquake that struck Venezuela. A huge crowd has gathered around a mountain of rubble, watching as rescue teams from the United States, France and Venezuela extract a man and his son from a crack in the concrete, covered in dust and almost unconscious. The teams, wearing helmets, carried them on a black sheet and carefully guided them through the crowd to an ambulance to rehydrate them via a drip. The rescue teams and onlookers burst into a round of relieved applause, before resuming rescue operations. Although the likelihood of finding survivors was diminishing by the hour, the rescuers continued to free a few survivors from the mountains of rubble, offering a glimmer of hope to the distraught families. Venezuela’s acting president, Delcy Rodríguez, stated on Sunday evening that, although the critical threshold had been passed, the search for survivors would continue. According to government reports, over 2,600 rescue workers from around the world have arrived on site with trained search dogs and equipment. The double earthquake, measuring 7.2 and 7.5 on the Richter scale, which struck last Wednesday, has left a trail of devastation in its wake. The United Nations has stated that up to 6.8 million of Venezuela’s nearly 30 million inhabitants may have been affected by the earthquakes. On Sunday, the authorities reported that over 770 buildings had collapsed, either completely or partially, as a result of the earthquakes.
