Newborn, mother rescued alive from Venezuela earthquake rubble

Rescue workers in Venezuela have pulled a baby alive from the rubble of a collapsed building, more than 32 hours after two powerful earthquakes devastated parts of the South American country, offering a rare moment of hope amid an unfolding humanitarian crisis.

The dramatic rescue took place in the coastal city of La Guaira, one of the communities worst affected by Wednesday’s twin earthquakes that caused widespread destruction across northern Venezuela.

Videos circulating on social media showed emergency responders carefully lifting the infant from beneath the debris before handing the child to a man believed to be the baby’s father, who was waiting anxiously at the scene.

Shortly after the infant’s rescue, emergency teams also succeeded in pulling the child’s mother alive from the collapsed structure, according to reports by AFP.

The successful rescues have boosted the morale of search-and-rescue teams, who continue to comb through collapsed buildings in the hope of finding more survivors trapped beneath the rubble.

Meanwhile, the scale of the disaster continues to emerge.

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The United Nations Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator, Tom Fletcher, told AFP that more than 50,000 people remain unaccounted for following the devastating earthquakes.

The twin earthquakes, measuring 7.2 and 7.5 magnitude, struck less than a minute apart on Wednesday evening while many Venezuelans were at home observing a national holiday.

The powerful tremors flattened residential buildings, schools and public infrastructure in several communities, leaving thousands of families homeless and overwhelming emergency response efforts.

Authorities said entire neighbourhoods suffered extensive structural damage, with rescue workers continuing to search collapsed buildings using heavy equipment, sniffer dogs and specialised detection device.

Thousands of displaced residents have been relocated to temporary shelters established by the government and humanitarian organisations, where emergency assistance, including food, clean drinking water, medical supplies and psychological support, is being provided.

Humanitarian agencies have warned that the needs of affected communities continue to grow as rescue operations enter a critical phase.

Emergency responders are racing against time to locate survivors, with experts noting that the chances of finding people alive diminish significantly after the first few days following a major earthquake.

The United Nations and other international relief agencies have continued to coordinate humanitarian assistance, while appeals have been made for additional international support to assist rescue operations and provide relief materials for displaced families.

As search efforts continue across the disaster zone, authorities have urged residents to remain vigilant over the possibility of aftershocks and to avoid damaged buildings until structural safety assessments are completed.

The rescue of the baby and the child’s mother has become a symbol of hope for families still awaiting news of missing relatives, as emergency workers continue their painstaking efforts to save lives amid one of Venezuela’s worst natural disasters in recent years.