Brazilian rescue teams are working in La Guaira, one of the regions hardest hit by the earthquakes in Venezuela, after search dogs indicated the possible presence of two people alive beneath the rubble of a collapsed residential building. Vital-sign detection equipment also confirmed the possibility that survivors remain trapped.According to a member of the Brazilian government accompanying the mission, the two victims are believed to be trapped in the building's garage, inside a void created between parked vehicles and the concrete slab of the collapsed structure. Firefighters and Civil Defense personnel have been working alongside rescuers from Venezuela and El Salvador since 8 a.m. on Wednesday (July 1), periodically halting excavation to verify the vital signs. Rescue teams have already reached one of the buried vehicles but must remove a structural obstacle, a process expected to take three to four hours.
In Playa Grande, another operation successfully rescued security guard Hernán Gil, 43, who had been trapped for eight days beneath the rubble of the guard booth where he worked. During that time, he received water and air through tubes and remained in contact with rescuers.
Despite the ongoing efforts, hopes of finding additional survivors diminish with each passing day. Most of the destroyed buildings in La Guaira have already been inspected and marked with the letter "D," indicating that no survivors are expected to be found. Even so, cases such as the recent rescue of a three-year-old child continue to give rescue teams hope.
