Toddler Pulled Alive from Venezuelan Earthquake Rubble After Six Days
Defying the odds almost a week after twin earthquakes shattered Venezuela, a three-year-old boy has been pulled alive from the ruins in La Guaira state.
The dramatic rescue of Klieber Morán was captured on video as a Jordanian civil defence team cheered his extraction from the debris. Surviving well beyond the critical 72-hour window when experts believe rescues are most likely, the child received immediate on-site medical attention before being transferred to a hospital in Caracas. Officials have confirmed his vital signs are strong.
Interim President Delcy Rodríguez called the boy’s survival a powerful symbol of hope for a grieving nation. The rescue proves that life can still be found beneath the wreckage, according to Assembly President Jorge Rodríguez, who noted that specialists from the U.S., Mexico and numerous other countries are still scouring the disaster zones with heavy machinery and sniffer dogs.
A mounting humanitarian catastrophe
Despite this glimmer of hope, the sheer scale of the destruction is staggering. The 7.2 and 7.5 magnitude tremors have claimed 1,943 lives so far. With over 10,000 citizens injured and tens of thousands still missing, authorities fear the death toll will continue to climb. Initial satellite data analysed by Nasa indicates that approximately 58,870 structures have been damaged or completely destroyed.
In heavily impacted regions like La Guaira, desperate residents are facing a severe humanitarian crisis. Basic infrastructure has collapsed, leaving survivors without reliable communications, medical care or adequate food.
Local resident Daniela Armas, 18, suffered injuries during the quakes and described the chaotic distribution of limited supplies. She noted that community tensions are boiling over as people fight brutally for sustenance, comparing the desperate scramble for food to «a cockfight».
International aid and health warnings
The United Nations refugee agency (UNHCR) has requested an initial $15 mln to deliver temporary shelters, core relief goods and vital protection for 30,000 displaced people over the next six months. A 47-tonne consignment of UN humanitarian aid landed on Tuesday, bringing emergency health kits, maternal care equipment and disease prevention supplies to the stricken country.
However, the World Health Organization (WHO) warns that the local medical system is buckling under «extreme pressure». WHO spokesperson Christian Lindmeier highlighted the severe risk of vaccine-preventable outbreaks, cautioning that diseases like diphtheria and measles could spread rapidly among the highly vulnerable population.
Amidst the international response, local families are grappling with unimaginable loss as they begin to bury the dead. At a temporary morgue near the La Guaira port, Wilker Molalla waited to claim the bodies of his sister, her children and his brother’s children.
