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After four days of emergency following the earthquakes in Venezuela, rescuers from the United States, Peru, El Salvador, Germany, and Switzerland continue recovering bodies, but also people found alive, in La Guaira, the hardest-hit state and a neighbor of Caracas.
In Caribe, a police officer, who asked not to be named, said that one person was rescued at around 3:00 p.m. on Sunday, June 28, 2026.
In the area, a team of rescuers from the United States, Switzerland, and El Salvador, together with Venezuelan firefighters, were trying to rescue a child believed to be alive, based on cries they heard and tracking by dogs trained for this work.
This was confirmed by Meredith Pool of the U.S.-based Gideon Rescue group and by Venezuelan firefighters.
At the scene, John Boquett, lieutenant colonel of the Caracas Fire Department, told EFE that the complexity of this type of rescue lies in the limited space available, requiring rescuers to use hand tools instead of heavy machinery.
As they dig through the rubble, rescuers install wooden supports to stabilize the structure and prevent collapses that could endanger their safety.
“The Heat Is Complicating Rescue Operations”
In Corales, Javier Erken, a member of the team of 40 Peruvian firefighters who arrived in Venezuela on June 26, 2026, told EFE that they rescued a 60-year-old woman who had been trapped inside a six-story building.
The Peruvian team brought a search-and-rescue dog trained to bark when detecting survivors and sit when locating the deceased in the coastal state. Erken noted that the high temperatures have made both the search for survivors and the recovery of bodies significantly more difficult.
“What sets this place apart—in La Guaira—and what is really affecting us is the heat. The temperature is complicating operations, first because it causes dehydration among personnel, and second because it accelerates the decomposition of bodies,” Erken said.
In some areas, the smell of death is so overwhelming that it can be detected even through face masks, amid a landscape of collapsed, burned, uninhabitable, and evacuated buildings devastated by the earthquakes.
The Peruvian rescuer remained optimistic about the possibility of finding more survivors, even though nearly 100 hours have passed since the earthquake. “Theory is one thing, but experience is another,” he said.
In the same area, Armin Braun, head of the Brazilian rescue mission that arrived in Venezuela on June 26, 2026, told EFE that beginning Monday, June 29, the Brazilian Navy will operate a field hospital staffed by 48 personnel to provide medical care.
In addition, Brazil has deployed 80 search-and-rescue personnel, bringing its total contingent in La Guaira to 128 people.
In La Guaira, the epicenter of the devastation, rescuers, survivors, and a large contingent of military and police personnel from various agencies have converged, with security forces controlling access along the state’s roadways.
The Numbers
Thousands of motorcycles create so much noise that rescue officials periodically ask riders to turn off their engines so they can listen for possible cries from survivors trapped beneath the rubble.
In recent days, looting has occurred at numerous businesses in La Guaira, to the point that signs reading “Already Looted” have been posted or spray-painted on the outside of many stores.
Most businesses remain closed or destroyed, and the few vendors still operating are informal merchants selling drinks or motor oil.
Amid the emergency, the official figures remain unclear. On June 28, the Presidential Press Office reported that “so far” at least 33 people have been rescued, but did not specify the time period covered by that figure.
The government also reported nearly 1,500 deaths and 3,150 injuries resulting from the two earthquakes that struck the country on June 24, 2026. However, the reported number of injured has declined over the course of the week. Just days earlier, Health Minister Carlos Alvarado had reported 4,300 people injured.
