Rescue workers in Venezuela have pulled a three-year-old child alive from beneath the rubble in La Guaira, six days after two powerful earthquakes devastated large parts of the country, offering a rare moment of hope amid an escalating humanitarian crisis.
The rescue took place in the northern coastal state of La Guaira, one of the areas worst affected by the twin earthquakes measuring 7.2 and 7.5 in magnitude, which struck less than a minute apart on June 24.
The child’s survival came as thousands of emergency responders continued an intensive search for survivors, despite dwindling hopes of finding more people alive beneath collapsed buildings.
Authorities have so far confirmed nearly 2,000 deaths, while more than 6,400 people have been rescued since the disaster struck. Tens of thousands of survivors remain displaced, with many lacking adequate shelter, food, clean water and other essential services.
The United Nations Refugee Agency warned that humanitarian needs are increasing rapidly as rescue efforts transition into large-scale relief operations.
“As the death toll rises, needs are skyrocketing,” the agency said in an emergency update, highlighting the urgent need for shelter, healthcare and protection for affected communities.
Several United Nations agencies and humanitarian partners remain deployed across the hardest-hit regions, working alongside Venezuelan authorities to provide emergency assistance, including temporary shelter, medical care, psychosocial support and other lifesaving services.
The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) reiterated that search-and-rescue operations remain a priority, stressing that “every life matters” as local and international teams continue combing through collapsed buildings in La Guaira.
Meanwhile, specialists from the United Nations Disaster Assessment and Coordination (UNDAC) team are carrying out detailed assessments to identify the communities most in need and ensure humanitarian assistance reaches vulnerable survivors as quickly as possible.
The twin earthquakes rank among Venezuela’s deadliest natural disasters in recent history, leaving widespread destruction across affected communities and posing a long-term challenge for authorities as recovery and reconstruction efforts gather pace.
