A mother in Venezuela has described hearing her toddler crying beneath the rubble of a collapsed apartment block, as desperate rescue efforts continue following two powerful earthquakes that have left widespread destruction and thousands of casualties.
On the day the earthquakes struck, Andreina Valerio rushed home from work to find her almost two-year-old son, Santiago, with her partner, Ramsés Mendoza, at her in-laws’ residence in La Guaira.
But when she arrived, the building had already collapsed into ruins. Her brother-in-law, Samuel Mendoza, was seen searching through the debris of what was once the family’s apartment block.
Speaking outside the wreckage, Andreina said her son, partner, and several members of her partner’s family including his parents and grandparents were still trapped inside. She also said two other children, a nine-year-old boy named Lucas and a three-year-old girl, Aranza, were believed to be inside the collapsed building.
Rescue teams from El Salvador and Spain have since arrived at the scene, but have been unable to access the structure. No survivors had been pulled from the building at the time of reporting.
Samuel Mendoza said that on the first morning after the earthquakes, he heard a faint cry for help from within the rubble, followed by an indistinct voice calling out. The following day, Andreina said she also heard what sounded like a baby crying from beneath the debris.
Despite the devastation, Andreina said she still believes her son may be alive. “I still have faith my son is alive,” she said. “I have faith that it’s my son. And I know my son will get through this, as will his family.”
Across La Guaira, families have been digging through rubble with their bare hands as hope battles against rising despair. Many of the affected residents have gone days without sleep, their voices hoarse from calling out for survivors.
Local residents say volunteers from nearby communities have joined the search efforts, while rescue teams continue operations across heavily affected areas. However, authorities acknowledge that the scale of destruction has overwhelmed available emergency response capacity.
More than 50 damaged buildings have been reported in La Guaira alone, with official figures indicating that over 1,400 structures have been affected across the region.
Venezuelan officials have described the disaster as one of the country’s worst in more than a century, with the death toll rising to 1,430 and more than 3,000 people injured. Thousands more remain unaccounted for.
Security forces have also been deployed in large numbers, with authorities confirming the presence of thousands of military and police personnel in the affected areas as rescue operations continue.
However, access challenges, damaged roads, and collapsed bridges have slowed emergency response efforts, with heavy machinery only gradually reaching some locations.
At night, conditions in La Guaira have grown increasingly dire. Witnesses describe bodies being recovered without specialised equipment and transported in private vehicles due to the shortage of ambulances and blocked roads.
Hospitals in Caracas have received hundreds of injured victims from the disaster zone. Medical staff report treating large numbers of patients with fractures and trauma-related conditions, including panic attacks and severe psychological distress.
Outside medical facilities, lists of the dead and injured have been posted to help families search for relatives, while posters of missing persons continue to line hospital walls and public spaces.
With tens of thousands still missing and rescue operations ongoing, families across Venezuela remain in desperate search of loved ones, holding onto fragile hope amid widespread destruction.
