Workers remove rubble from a collapsed building in Caracas, Venezuela. (Photo: AP)
Hours after two powerful earthquakes struck Venezuela’s northern coast, rescue teams were still pulling people out alive from the wreckage through Thursday night, including a woman and her father, retrieved from rubble near the Coral Beach building in La Guaira state.
In a moment that stood apart from the surrounding devastation, a woman gave birth in the rubble as rescue efforts continued around her.
🇻🇪 A powerful moment from Venezuela
A woman has reportedly given birth in the rubble after the earthquake, as rescue efforts continue in badly hit areas.
Even in the middle of the destruction, life carries on.
The two earthquakes struck within 40 seconds of each other on Wednesday evening. The first measured 7.2 in magnitude, the second 7.5. Both were shallow, which amplified the destruction at ground level and brought down buildings across northern Venezuela. The death toll has reached 235, with more than 4,300 injured and thousands still missing.
⚠️ The death toll from the devastating earthquake in Venezuela has risen to 235
According to the country's Health Ministry, more than 4,300 people have been injured. Search and rescue operations are still underway, and officials warn that the number of victims could continue to… https://t.co/VWhKuEVoFxpic.twitter.com/Vr1CWg6CjT
La Guaira, on the Caribbean coast north of Caracas, took the worst of it. Venezuela’s main international airport remains closed due to structural damage, slowing the arrival of aid and rescue teams.
The search continues
Rescue teams worked through Thursday night across La Guaira and Caracas. More than 200 people are still believed trapped under the rubble of around 250 collapsed or damaged buildings. Hundreds of thousands remain officially missing.
Search and rescue professionals work to a 72-hour survival window the period when chances of finding people alive remain highest. Teams are working with that deadline in mind.
Rescue teams pull a woman and her father alive from rubble near Coral Beach building in Venezuela's La Guaira state
🏚️ Massive 7.5-magnitude earthquake strikes northern Venezuela after a 7.2 foreshock 40 seconds earlier pic.twitter.com/oTTYl5bKYh
US rescue units from Fairfax County, Virginia, and Los Angeles County have deployed. Mexico and the Dominican Republic have also sent teams. Acting President Delcy Rodríguez declared La Guaira a disaster zone and appealed to businesses to release heavy construction equipment for the effort.
Families posted handwritten missing-person lists on walls and social media. Hundreds spent the night in Caracas parks, too afraid to go back inside.
“I lost everything,” said Cristian Carreño, staring at his damaged apartment building. “There are people still inside, I imagine, that couldn’t get out.”
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Workers remove rubble from a collapsed building in Caracas, Venezuela. (Photo: AP) 
