Franklin Fuentes is searching for missing relatives in the rubble of the collapsed house in La Guaira two days after the earthquake.image: ap / Ariana Cubillos
Two days after the severe earthquake, a federal team of specialists begins its work in the disaster area. For thousands of people, every hour counts.
June 27, 2026, 2:29 p.mJune 27, 2026, 2:39 p.m
Two days after the devastating earthquake, a Swiss rescue team landed in Venezuela on Friday morning (local time). Because the runway at the airport in the capital Caracas was badly damaged, they had to switch to a regional airport two hours’ drive away. “We are now loading the material and setting off straight away so that we can start work as quickly as possible,” says team leader Sebastian Eugster when “Switzerland Today” reached him on Friday evening. The cell phone network is overloaded and the phone connection keeps dropping out.
Switzerland has sent 80 specialists to the region, including 22 army personnel. In addition to specialists for rescuing people from rubble, there are also doctors and civil engineers who can check the statics of buildings at risk of collapse. The Swiss team will set up its tents north of Caracas – in consultation with other international helpers and the Venezuelan authorities. An advance detachment is already in the disaster area.
The rescuers work day and night
An advance detachment set off for Venezuela in the Rega jet.Image: EDA
There, in the state of La Guaira, the destruction is particularly great. According to the government, the number of dead people recovered has now risen to over 580 people. Almost 3,000 people were injured. Tens of thousands of people are believed to have been buried under the rubble. Families sometimes search for their relatives with their bare hands. There is a lack of heavy equipment to clear rubble, it is said from the earthquake area.
Switzerland can help here. The Swiss helpers have eight search dogs with them – and 18 tons of material: devices to locate people and machines to lift, drill or cut through concrete rubble. Lamps to be able to work at night. Plus tents, food and water for the first day. “We work 24 hours a day on two damage sites in parallel, for up to ten days,” says Eugster, outlining the operation. The federal government has released 1.5 million francs in emergency aid funds for the first search and rescue phase.
“I’ve never experienced anything like this before”
In addition to Swiss helpers, emergency teams from Mexico and neighboring Colombia were among the first on site. “Support from the United States had not yet arrived at this point; she only came today. I was very annoyed about it,” says entrepreneur Elisabeth, who lives in Venezuela.
Meanwhile, Washington promised the country $150 million in aid. To ensure that support arrives quickly, the US Treasury Department temporarily suspended parts of the sanctions. In addition, Elon Musk’s satellite provider Starlink wants to provide the communications network free of charge until July 25th.
The Swiss rescue team before departure.Image: EDA
Elisabeth drove through her hometown of Caracas in the first hours after the earthquake to get an overview of the extent of the earthquake. In many places, the mobile phone network and the internet were restricted after the quakes. Rumors of an impending tsunami were circulating on social networks. In an interview with our newspaper on Friday, she said: “I’ve never experienced anything like that.” She remembers two smaller earthquakes in Venezuela. The destruction of that time cannot be compared with the current one. “What we experienced here in Venezuela is terrible,” says Elisabeth.
The earthquake surprised her and her family in their apartment: “My niece, my husband and I were just having dinner. Suddenly an alert sounded on my phone.” While she was still reading the notification, she felt the first shock. Then came the second, even stronger one. “We wanted to escape from the apartment, but then remembered that our door frames are made of steel and not wood,” says Elisabeth. They then waited there until the tremors subsided.
As she quickly noticed on her tour after the quake, staying in the building could have ended differently: many buildings in the capital also partially or completely collapsed. “We thank God that our home and the surrounding buildings in our area were not damaged,” said Elisabeth. (schweiztoday.ch)