Venezuela Quake Death Toll Reaches 3,342; Eight-Day Rescue Offers Rare Hope Amid International Recovery Effort

Venezuela’s death toll from the June 24 twin earthquakes has climbed to 3,342, with 16,470 people injured and 17,345 left homeless, according to official figures reported by Reuters, while international rescue teams, local volunteers and aid organizations continue working through collapsed buildings even as the mission increasingly shifts from rescue to recovery.

The devastation has been concentrated heavily in the coastal state of La Guaira, north of Caracas, where scores of buildings collapsed and thousands of families have been displaced. The Guardian reported that international teams were beginning to wrap up operations 11 days after the double shocks, while many families were still trying to recover the bodies of relatives from the rubble.

Even with the survival window narrowing, a series of late rescues has given the disaster response moments of hope. The most prominent came in Catia La Mar, where rescuers pulled 43-year-old security guard Hernán Alberto Gil Flores alive from the basement of the collapsed Galerías Playa Grande shopping center eight days after the earthquakes struck. According to the Associated Press, he had been trapped since June 24, and a small security cabin shielded him from crushing debris while creating a pocket of air.

Rescuers first made contact with Mr. Gil Flores days before his extraction, then worked more than 100 hours through unstable debris, heavy rain and aftershocks to reach him. AP reported that the effort involved teams from Venezuela, Chile, Costa Rica, the United States, Portugal and Mexico, with rescuers supplying him with food and water while the operation continued.