Venezuela earthquake: father and son found alive in rubble after four days as death toll nears 1,500

A rescuer searches for missing people in an area affected by the earthquake in Catia La Mar, Venezuela, on Sunday. Photograph: Ronald Pena R/EPA View image in fullscreen A rescuer searches for missing people in an area affected by the earthquake in Catia La Mar, Venezuela, on Sunday. Photograph: Ronald Pena R/EPA Venezuela earthquake: father and son found alive in rubble after four days as death toll nears 1,500 President says ‘we always hold onto hope’ as discovery of earthquake survivors spurs fresh search efforts despite dwindling chances of survival Mortuary in Caracas ‘overwhelmed’ as Venezuela struggles to respond after earthquakes A man and his teenage son were found alive under the rubble in Venezuela on Sunday, in a town about 40km north of the capital Caracas, AFP journalists reported, as the death toll from last week’s twin earthquakes passed 1,450. The discovery of survivors in Caraballeda was made by French and American rescue teams nearly four days after back-to-back quakes of magnitude 7.2 and 7.5 struck, completely destroying nearly 200 buildings in the area. Venezuelan earthquakes test Trump’s new western hemisphere policy after gutting of USAID Read more Interim president Delcy Rodríguez on Sunday praised rescuers for still pulling survivors from the ruins. “Today we have rescued people who are still alive, and therefore these efforts will not be suspended,” she said. “We always hold on to hope.” The rescue offered a glimmer of hope in an ongoing tragedy that has shaken a country already mired in an economic crisis, but tens of thousands of people were still reported missing and the critical 72-hour window for rescuing trapped victims following a natural disaster has now passed. Millions more people were reported to lack sanitation and other basic needs after one of Latin America’s most devastating earthquake disasters. View image in fullscreen A rescue worker surveys the rubble in an area affected by the earthquake in Catia La Mar. Photograph: Ronald Pena R/EPA Rescue teams from the US, Mexico and elsewhere scrambled to save people as desperate residents dug by hand for relatives trapped in the pancaked layers and rubble of collapsed apartments. About 774 buildings were badly damaged by the twin quakes that struck on Wednesday evening, National Assembly president Jorge Rodriguez said on Sunday. On Sunday, Rodriguez reported 1,450 dead – a toll expected to rise – with 3,150 people injured. Even as rescue efforts continued apace, outbreaks of looting hit La Guaira, a port city near the country’s main international airport. Much of the city now lies in rubble after Wednesday’s disaster. Pharmacies, supermarkets and other businesses were ransacked, said residents, some of whom complained of the slow and meagre post-quake aid coming from authorities. US helicopters ferried in aid, and 230 more US military personnel were arriving to help expand airport capacity and reopen a key seaport to boost relief efforts, the US Southern Command