Aftershock Hits Venezuela Coast as Rescue Teams Continue Search

A 4.6-magnitude aftershock struck at a depth of 10 km north of Caraballeda on Venezuela’s Caribbean coast on Monday. Jorge Rodriguez, leader of the Venezuelan National Assembly, stated there were no immediate reports of additional damage from the tremor.

Teams continued searching rubble in the northern port city of La Guaira, the area hardest hit by the back-to-back 7.2- and 7.5-magnitude earthquakes that struck northwestern Venezuela the previous Wednesday. The quakes have left close to 1,500 people confirmed dead, with more than 1,400 reported in some tallies, hundreds of buildings collapsed, and tens of thousands still presumed missing five days later.

The critical 72-hour rescue window passed on Saturday evening, though a handful of survivors were pulled out on Sunday.

Venezuelan authorities have received support from 24 countries that sent more than 500 tonnes of supplies, 2,700 rescue and support personnel, and about 86 teams with search dogs. Thirty thousand Venezuelan rescue workers and 2,700 foreign experts are participating in the effort.

A U.S. search team rescued a mother and her 9-month-old baby from debris. Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele reported that teams from Venezuela, Mexico, and El Salvador freed 21-year-old Aaron Levi from a collapsed building in La Guaira after he spent 106 hours under rubble.

Keyla Zerpa said her 11-year-old nephew Kenger was rescued on Saturday as the only survivor from his building.

More than 300 American rescuers are on the ground.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio spoke to Acting President Delcy Rodriguez last week and offered full U.S. assistance. Interim President Delcy Rodriguez said on Sunday that operations would continue because people had been recovered alive. Family members have marked several collapsed homes in La Guaira where they could not recover bodies.

Aid including water and food had only just started reaching the hardest-hit areas as of Sunday, with many residents camping outside.