{"id":1172,"date":"2026-06-27T04:13:05","date_gmt":"2026-06-27T04:13:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/topmovingpross.com\/?p=1172"},"modified":"2026-06-27T04:13:05","modified_gmt":"2026-06-27T04:13:05","slug":"crucial-window-for-rescuing-survivors-narrows-as-venezuela-enters-third-day-after-deadly-twin-quakes","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/topmovingpross.com\/?p=1172","title":{"rendered":"Crucial window for rescuing survivors narrows as Venezuela enters third day after deadly twin quakes"},"content":{"rendered":"
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LA GUAIRA, Venezuela (AP) \u2014 The situation has grown more desperate by the hour in Venezuela<\/span> as people dig through the rubble of collapsed homes and apartment buildings three days after the devastating one-two punch of 7.2 and 7.5-magnitude earthquakes<\/span>, knowing time is running out to find survivors. <\/p>\n

Read more Photos show rescue efforts across earthquake-ravaged Venezuela<\/a><\/p>\n

Authorities announced Friday night that they would block access to La Guaira, the epicenter of the destruction, as chaos and traffic began to hamper search efforts. Officials said anyone who wants to enter would now have to seek official permits, but provided few details of who would be allowed in.<\/p>\n

Venezuelans took the search for missing loved ones<\/span> into their own hands, citing a scarcity of government rescuers, as the human toll of Wednesday\u2019s quakes climbed to at least 920 dead and more than 51,000 missing. People reported seeing few state rescue teams in the hardest-hit areas, despite authorities projecting an image of a robust government response.<\/p>\n

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Aid agencies consider the first 48 to 72 hours to be a crucial time frame to retrieve people alive, though that can be extended if they have access to food and water.<\/p>\n

\u201cEach person saved is a miracle,\u201d said Jorge Rodr\u00edguez, president of the National Assembly. \u201cWe are not going to hide absolutely anything about the magnitude of this tragedy.\u201d<\/p>\n

Anxious families wait to see if relatives survived<\/h2>\n

In the state of La Guaira, just north of the capital, Caracas, Nazareth Jimenez sobbed into a loved one\u2019s shoulder as she watched neighbors use hammers and power tools to try to cut through slabs of concrete in a building reduced to a mountain of debris. She was wracked with anxiety as she waited to see if her siblings, nephews, nieces and friends would emerge alive.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy God, how are we going to get them out of there?\u201d Jimenez murmured.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re making a call for help to the government and countries across the world,\u201d she said, pleading for machinery capable of moving collapsed structures. \u201cThere are still people alive in there.\u201d<\/p>\n

Government forces distributed food and water to survivors in La Guaira, and acting President Delcy Rodr\u00edguez said her government was mounting a full response during these \u201ccritical hours for rescuing people alive.\u201d <\/p>\n

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She welcomed the arrival of international rescuers and humanitarian aid. She said La Guaira had been militarized and more help was on the way, even as residents said it was just a fraction of what they needed.<\/p>\n

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The disaster poses a huge challenge for Rodr\u00edguez<\/span>, the former vice president who took office in January after the capture and removal of then-President Nicol\u00e1s Maduro<\/span> by the United States. Venezuela has been facing economic disarray<\/span> for more than a decade, and many people reject the legitimacy of the political movement Rodr\u00edguez represents<\/span>.<\/p>\n

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