Earthquake in La Guaira Destroys One Tower and Leaves Second Leaning; 33 Rescued Alive

An earthquake struck La Guaira, Venezuela, on Wednesday, collapsing one tower of the Mariola and Maribel Residences near the beach and leaving the second tower leaning and unstable. The second tower appeared to have been swallowed by the earth as of Monday. Rescue teams and residents have pulled 33 people alive from rubble across affected sites as recently as Saturday.

Efforts at the Mariola and Maribel Residences produced a false alarm after 10 minutes of listening yielded no sounds. Ronnie Navarro traveled 350 km from Puerto La Cruz and arrived Saturday to help extract his uncle from the debris. He said authorities had passed by without sustained assistance because they had no relatives at the site.

Zuly Marín, a 66-year-old biologist who lived in the complex for more than a decade, survived because she visited her father instead of returning home after shopping. She lost her niece and brother-in-law in the collapse. Nearby at the Caribe residential complex, which was completely destroyed, Belkys Valecillo said her brother, nephew and sister-in-law remain buried on the first floor.

Three families continue digging there, and several bodies have already been recovered.