Rescue Operations Resume in La Guaira After June Earthquakes Kill Over 5,500

On 24 June, two powerful quakes of magnitude 7.2 and 7.5 struck northern Venezuela, causing massive destruction in the coastal city of La Guaira. Official counts put the death toll at 5,546, with 190 buildings collapsed and 856 more damaged.

Rescue teams returned on Friday to recover bodies from the rubble of a 12‑storey building in the Catia La Mar neighbourhood that had been deliberately demolished the day before. A back‑hoe excavator was used to break up concrete slabs that were too dangerous to clear by hand. Henley Pinto, who is searching for four relatives, explained that the building’s lower floors had sunk and the structure was tilted, making manual recovery impossible.

Residents expressed fear that further controlled explosions could disturb remaining bodies. "My father is on the first floor. If the tower falls, it will be harder to reach him," said local resident Kimberly Roa. The operation now marks the start of a safer phase of body recovery for the community.