International rescue teams extracted 33 survivors from collapsed structures across northern Venezuela over the weekend following the twin 7.2 and 7.5 magnitude earthquakes that struck the region on June 24. The government has confirmed at least 1,450 fatalities as search operations continue past the critical 72-hour survival window.
Key Details:
- Over 2,600 rescue workers from 27 countries remain deployed on the ground.
- More than 770 buildings have partially or completely collapsed in La Guaira state alone.
- Preliminary assessments estimate the earthquakes caused $6.7 billion in direct physical damage, accounting for roughly 6% of the national gross domestic product.
Among the weekend operations was a 12-hour extraction in La Guaira involving a U.S. search team from Fairfax County, Virginia, working alongside French Civil Security. The joint units successfully pulled two severely weakened survivors—identified in reports as either two young boys or a father and son—from the debris. Responders administered intravenous fluids and medications to the victims before carefully transporting them to safety on fabric stretchers.
The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs is actively managing the deployment of 44 international urban search and rescue teams across the affected states. A preliminary UN assessment calculated the initial economic destruction. U.S. State Department personnel and Los Angeles County Fire Department assets are currently assisting with local damage evaluations.