Venezuela welcomes 1600 foreign rescuers after quake
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Venezuela’s government says 1600 members of foreign rescue teams have arrived to help search for survivors of the devastating twin earthquakes which killed more than 1400 people this week as it tightened access to the worst-affected state.
Residents and volunteers in La Guaira, a popular destination for beachgoers where at least 100 buildings, many residential high-rises, were destroyed or damaged, have for days decried shortages of heavy equipment and a limited official presence.
Venezuela’s interim President Delcy Rodriguez said in an overnight address on state television that 10 more countries were still to join rescue efforts and 14,000 military and police members were in La Guaira to patrol and take sanitary measures, three days after the quake.
“In recent hours, Venezuela has received 17 flights carrying more than 1600 members of rescue teams, and over the next 24 hours, the arrival of 25 additional flights is expected,” foreign ministry official Oliver Blanco said.
“We thank the international community for its support and solidarity during these moments of uncertainty for Venezuelans,” Blanco added on X in the early hours of Saturday.
The death toll rose to 1430 and more than 3200 people were injured, the head of the parliament said on Saturday.
Teams from El Salvador, Mexico, the Dominican Republic, Switzerland, Ecuador, Spain, Chile, Colombia, the Netherlands, Italy and the United States were already on the ground, officials said.
Rodriguez said rescuing those still trapped remained the government’s top priority, particularly in La Guaira.
Rescuers have been making their way to sites around La Guaira state and Venezuela’s capital Caracas, although on Friday some areas were still largely without an official presence as families and neighbours struggled to find missing loved ones in the rubble, sometimes digging with their hands.
Officials closed the road between La Guaira and nearby Caracas on Friday evening, saying heavy traffic was preventing quick passage of emergency vehicles and official rescuers.
Civilians who are not part of official rescue teams will need a credential to pass the roadblock and Reuters witnesses were prevented from using the main road on Saturday morning by police, while an older secondary road was choked with traffic.
The government had previously thanked civilians who brought aid, often by motorcycle, to desperate residents.
Venezuelan state television showed images of thousands of pairs of shoes, clothing and other aid being collected by the government.
While the power remained out near the quakes’ epicentre in Moron on Friday, as well as fully down in La Guaira, it was being restored in other places with Rodriguez saying that 60 per cent of electricity had been restored.
Venezuela’s power grid, crippled by years of underinvestment and economic sanctions, regularly experiences problems, leading to daily hours-long blackouts in some regions.
Although the government has said hundreds are missing or trapped, more than 54,000 people are listed as unaccounted for on a website promoted by the country’s opposition.
The US Geological Survey estimated more than 10,000 deaths were possible from the magnitude 7.2 and 7.5 quakes, which would place them among Latin America’s deadliest of the last century.
Aid agencies consider the first 48 to 72 hours as crucial for retrieving people alive although that can be extended if they have access to food and water.
The disaster could have political consequences for Rodriguez, who has tried to portray herself as an agent of change even though she served as vice president to Nicolas Maduro, who was ousted and arrested by the US in January.
Rodriguez spoke by phone with US President Donald Trump and Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Friday after meeting with the US military’s Northern Command and disaster experts.
The US said it was mobilising $US150 million in aid and easing sanctions while its military dispatched two ships and said helicopters and aircraft would support rescue efforts.
Among the rescue teams working in La Guaira are a team from El Salvador, whose President Nayib Bukele has hailed multiple rescues on his X account, including of a 15-year-old girl.
Looting has taken place at several sites in La Guaira, Reuters witnesses said.
with EFE and AP
Reuters