A man stands in a destroyed building in La Guaira three days after the devastating earthquakes. Image: keystone
June 28, 2026, 4:50 p.mJune 28, 2026, 4:50 p.m
“It’s a miracle,” the man shouts to the emergency services who pull him out from under the rubble and rubble – in stunned happiness that he is saved so many hours after the severe double earthquake in the Venezuelan state of La Guaira. “Welcome, Antoniooo!” his helpers also cheer.
Even on day four after the disaster, the rescue teams still managed to rescue people alive from the rubble. Impressive videos show how helpers squeeze through narrow gaps between the rubble and, after difficult work, rescue people from them – adults, children, even babies just a few weeks old.
A Colombian team managed to rescue an 11-year-old boy alive in La Guaira after a six-hour operation, a video from Colombia’s disaster agency UNGRD shows. Teams from countries such as El Salvador, Ecuador and Spain also reported successful rescues.
Despite intensive efforts, the death toll is rising – and will continue to rise. According to the President of the National Assembly, Jorge Rodríguez, 1,430 deaths have been counted so far. More than 3,200 people were injured.
Video: Watson/Lucas Zollinger
Chances for survivors are decreasing rapidly
Meanwhile, the critical time window for finding survivors is gradually closing. Experts assume that the chances of missing and buried people decrease significantly after 72 hours – i.e. three days. The first quake with a magnitude of 7.2 occurred early Wednesday evening local time (just after midnight according to German time) – the second, even more powerful quake with a magnitude of 7.5 followed just 39 seconds later.
People in La Guaira are looking for their relatives on missing person lists.Image: keystone
Since then, almost 79,000 reports have been received on an internet portal set up specifically to search for missing people. According to the operators, almost 50,000 people are still missing. However, the information cannot be independently verified. Many relatives have not heard from each other since the disaster and are increasingly desperately waiting for news about the whereabouts of family members. Electricity and mobile phone networks have still not been restored everywhere.
According to Rodríguez, not only President of the Venezuelan National Assembly but also brother of the acting head of government Delcy Rodríguez, 30,000 Venezuelan emergency services are deployed in the disaster area. This also includes doctors and psychologists. According to government information, more than 2,700 rescue experts from 24 countries are taking part in the search for buried victims.
Rescue work in Caracas, June 27, 2026.Image: keystone
Also an 80-strong one Team from Switzerland traveled to Venezuela to assist with rescue efforts. Thousands of people are still believed to be under the rubble. Every hour the hopes of finding survivors dwindle.
After the severe double earthquakes on Wednesday, there were 430 aftershocks, said Jorge Rodríguez. More than 70,000 families were supported by the authorities after the disaster.
Severely damaged infrastructure, uninhabitable houses
The earthquakes caused considerable destruction, particularly in the state of La Guaira, but also in the capital Caracas. In some cases, entire streets with high-rise buildings have been razed to the ground. Transport Minister Jacqueline Faría announced the partial resumption of train and subway services starting Sunday, including the Caracas metro.
According to the president, more than 380 residential buildings and 13 hospitals were destroyed or seriously damaged. Shopping centers and other public buildings also collapsed. The medical facilities that are in operation are being extremely overrun, local journalists reported.
People in Catia La Mar sleep on the street, on June 28, 2026.Image: keystone
Many residents in the affected regions do not have a permanent roof over their heads. Delcy Rodríguez explained on Platform
Journalists reporting from the streets in particularly hard-hit areas contradict the narrative that the government is taking care of everyone: many families stayed on the streets with their small children for fear that further aftershocks could cause houses to collapse. (sda/dpa)