Venezuelan rescue workers have pulled an 18-day-old baby alive from the rubble of a collapsed building in the earthquake-ravaged coastal city of La Guaira, offering a rare moment of hope as the country’s death toll from Wednesday’s twin earthquakes climbed to 1,430.
The dramatic rescue came about 32 hours after the powerful tremors struck, with emergency workers carefully lifting the infant from beneath piles of concrete and twisted debris under floodlights while onlookers applauded.
Videos circulating on social media platforms on Saturday showed rescuers passing the baby, wrapped in a quilt, from one emergency worker to another before gently cleaning the child and carrying the infant to safety.
According to Andreina Quintero, who shared footage of the rescue online, the baby, believed to be just 18 days old, escaped without visible injuries despite being trapped beneath the rubble for more than a day. The child’s mother had reportedly been rescued about an hour after the infant became trapped.
A follow-up video showed the mother receiving treatment in a hospital, where medical personnel informed her that the baby appeared unharmed. A health worker suggested the mother’s actions may have shielded the infant from falling debris during the collapse.
The rescue has become a symbol of hope for a nation gripped by one of its worst natural disasters in recent history.
Rescue teams, however, continue to race against time as thousands remain unaccounted for following the back-to-back magnitude 7.2 and 7.5 earthquakes that devastated large parts of Venezuela’s northern coast.
Authorities said more than 51,000 people remain missing, while over 3,300 have sustained injuries. Emergency officials warned that hopes of finding additional survivors are fading as the critical 72-hour rescue window draws to a close.
The coastal city of La Guaira, north of the capital Caracas, suffered the worst destruction, with entire residential blocks reduced to rubble. Search operations have been hampered by damaged infrastructure, traffic congestion and limited access to affected communities.
To improve emergency operations, authorities have restricted access to the disaster zone, requiring official permits for entry into the hardest-hit areas.
Government officials said food, water and emergency supplies are being distributed to survivors as local and international rescue teams continue searching collapsed buildings.
“Each person saved is a miracle,” National Assembly President Jorge Rodriguez said, acknowledging the enormity of the disaster while promising transparency over the scale of the tragedy.
Acting President Delcy Rodriguez said the government had mobilised all available resources for rescue efforts and welcomed international assistance, describing the coming hours as critical for locating survivors trapped beneath collapsed structures.
International humanitarian agencies warned that Venezuela faces a growing humanitarian crisis.
The International Organization for Migration (IOM) estimated that up to 6.76 million people could be affected by the disaster, including nearly two million residents of Caracas, highlighting the enormous humanitarian needs likely to emerge in the aftermath of the earthquakes.
“It is already clear that displacement will increase, as people seek safety,” IOM Director-General Amy Pope said, calling for an urgent international response to provide life-saving assistance.
The United Nations Development Programme estimated that direct physical damage from the earthquakes could range between $4.7 billion and $8.7 billion, while experts warned that the final death toll is likely to rise as rescue teams continue combing through collapsed buildings.
More than 1,600 members of foreign search-and-rescue teams have reportedly arrived in Venezuela to support local emergency responders.
Aid organisations cautioned that Venezuela’s already fragile humanitarian situation has complicated rescue operations, leaving significant gaps in emergency response despite the growing international assistance.
Even so, the miraculous rescue of the newborn has provided a rare source of optimism for exhausted rescuers and grieving families, reinforcing hopes that more survivors may yet be found beneath the ruins before time runs out.