Venezuela quake search continues as aftershock jolts La Guaira

Laguaira,UPDATED: Jun 29, 2026 22:20 IST

Venezuelans continued searching through the ruins of collapsed buildings on Monday, five days after twin earthquakes struck the country’s north, killing more than 1,450 people, according to the government. The search went on as a strong aftershock shook the disaster zone in La Guaira state, adding to fear among residents and rescuers.

With the window for finding survivors narrowing, families waited at search sites while local and international teams carried on despite exhaustion. Relief organisations say the first 72 hours after a natural disaster are the most crucial for rescues, though survival can be longer if people have access to food and water.

In badly hit La Guaira, Ana Rada watched as civil defence workers searched the rubble of a collapsed apartment block for her missing brother. “We have to stay strong, even without food, without sleep,” she said, wiping her eyes. “Until I see the body, I still have hope.”

The aftershock struck about 27 kilometres north of Caraballeda on Venezuela’s Caribbean coast. The United States Geological Survey measured it at 4.6 on the Richter scale, while Colombia’s geological survey put it at 5.1. Jorge Rodriguez, leader of the Venezuelan Assembly, said there were no immediate reports of further damage, but the tremor sent residents in Caracas rushing into the streets.

“Here we are again, back in the street. I don’t know when we’ll have a moment of true peace,” said Concepcion Hernandez, 51, after leaving her apartment building in the Chacao municipality of Caracas.

Among those involved in rescue work in La Guaira on Monday was miner Jean Sosa, who said he was deported from the United States in January after missing an immigration court hearing. The 31-year-old said he reached Caracas last month after a journey that began in shackles at an immigration detention centre in Arizona and continued by bus through five countries after agents left him in southern Mexico without his passport, phone or wallet.

Sosa said he had been checking on family friends in La Guaira when the earthquakes struck on Wednesday. He said he then began pulling people from the rubble for days before national rescue teams arrived. Wearing a helmet and a black T-shirt covered in dust, he told The Associated Press that he had already rescued 20 people alive.

“I’m not involved in politics, but I believe many people could have been saved if there had been equipment and support from top authorities from the very beginning,” he said. He added that the rescues had given him hope despite a severe shortage of supplies.

“We’re working without gloves, without equipment, borrowing supplies, improvising bandages and whatever else we can,” he said. “But we’re still here, still fighting.”

Rodriguez, who is the brother of acting President Delcy Rodriguez, said 12,721 people had been affected as of Monday and that 774 buildings had been damaged or had collapsed. The United Nations, however, has said that as many as 6.8 million of Venezuela’s nearly 30 million people could be affected, including through displacement or the loss of essential services such as electricity and water.

Amid the chaos and poor mobile phone service, many Venezuelans have turned to non-government digital databases to report missing relatives. More than 50,000 people were listed as missing on one such database, though it was not clear how many had since been found.

With anger growing over what critics have called a slow and inadequate response, Rodriguez said rescue efforts were far from over even though the 72-hour mark had passed. Footage shared on social media on Monday showed first responders carrying 21-year-old Aaron Levi Cantillo out of the ruins on a stretcher to applause after what was described as a gruelling 43-hour operation.

As rescue teams pressed on in La Guaira and families waited for word on missing relatives, the disaster continued to unfold with sharply differing estimates of the number of people affected and fresh tremors deepening uncertainty across northern Venezuela.

With PTI Inputs

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