Emergency workers have been desperately racing to rescue people trapped under collapsed buildings after a pair of powerful earthquakes hit Venezuela Wednesday night, leaving at least 164 people dead and nearly 1,000 injured.Limited time: Save 25% on NBC News subscriptionGet exclusive reporting, live Q&As and ad-free reading.Three children were among those pulled to safety in a miraculous rescue that aired on state television.
Footage showed the young children climbing over piles of rubble in La Guaira.In another video, an emergency worker heaves a large stone aside while working to free people from the wreckage.
The Central University of Venezuela in Caracas shared a video on X of several people working to lift debris off a trapped man.The university identified them as medical students who “joined in to provide aid and assistance to various survivors.” The students helped free a man in the town of Caraballeda who was pinned under the beams of a collapsed restaurant.
One Caracas resident, Nelson Ospedales, said his home in the Altamira neighborhood partially collapsed.“Material possessions can be recovered, but at this moment, the competent authorities — such as firefighters and civil defense — have been completely overwhelmed,” he told Noticias Telemundo Ahora in Spanish.“They need more personnel.
Hospitals have become severely congested.”Neighbors carry a man rescued from the rubble Thursday in La Guaira, Venezuela.Pedro Mattey / APPolice evacuate an injured victim from a collapsed building Wednesday in Caracas.Juan Barreto / AFP via Getty ImagesNeighboring countries have already offered assistance, including the United States, Mexico, Argentina, Brazil, China, France, Cuba, and El Salvador.“The U.S.A.
stands ready, willing, and able to help! I have instructed all agencies of our government to get ready to move quickly,” President Donald Trump said in a post on Truth Social.“We will be there for our new and great friends.
Early repor...