Mother watches as 14-year-old daughter pulled alive from earthquake rubble in Venezuela
Rescue teams pulled a 14-year-old girl alive from the rubble of a collapsed building in the San Bernardino parish of Caracas after powerful earthquakes struck northern Venezuela.
Footage showed emergency workers carrying the teenager on a stretcher after rescuing her following several hours of search efforts.
Rescuers stabilised the girl at the scene before taking her to a nearby medical centre, where she remains under medical observation.
Her mother, Alexandra Pedrero, described the moment the building collapsed.
“This was something unexpected. And when the tremor started, I couldn't figure out how to come asking for help, so they could bring me. And when I looked, I saw my daughter trapped,” she said.
Local media reported that several people had been rescued alive from collapsed buildings as search-and-rescue operations continued in Caracas and other affected areas.
The US Geological Survey (USGS) said two powerful earthquakes struck northern Venezuela within seconds of each other. The first measured magnitude 7.2, followed by a stronger magnitude 7.5 earthquake. Both were centred near Yumare, close to the Montalbán-Morón area in Carabobo state, at shallow depths.
The earthquakes were felt across Caracas and several north-central states, prompting residents to evacuate buildings and causing damage to offices, residential buildings and other structures.
Venezuela’s seismological agency, FUNVISIS, urged residents to rely on official information as the risk of aftershocks remained.
Interior Minister Diosdado Cabello said emergency incidents had been reported in Caracas, Miranda, Aragua, Carabobo, Trujillo and La Guaira.
According to the latest update by interim leader Delcy Rodriguez, the death toll has climbed to 164, with nearly 1,000 injured, compared to preliminary official figures, which reported 32 killed, and about 700 were injured after authorities warned that casualty figures could rise as rescue operations and damage assessments continue.
Venezuela last experienced a similar-magnitude earthquake in 2018, when a magnitude 7.3 earthquake centred near Sucre state was felt across parts of the Caribbean and South America.
This story is written and edited by the Global South World team, you can contact us here.
