Child Rescued From Rubble in Venezuela Six Days After Earthquakes
Quick Look
- A three-year-old boy, Klieber Moran, was rescued from earthquake rubble in Venezuela six days after twin quakes hit the country.
- The UN sent humanitarian supplies, while concerns grow over a deepening humanitarian crisis for displaced survivors.
AI-generated summary
Why It Matters
Venezuela was hit by twin earthquakes of magnitudes 7.2 and 7.5, causing widespread destruction and trapping thousands. Rescue efforts are ongoing, with a child recently pulled from the rubble.
A child has been rescued from the rubble in Venezuela, six days since the country was hit by devastating twin earthquakes.
The boy, identified by the Reuters news agency as Klieber Moran, was rescued early on Tuesday, the only reported survivor on the sixth day of rescue efforts, according to Venezuelan authorities.
Moran was pulled from the Los Corales Garden 1 building in La Guaira state by rescuers from Jordan, Venezuela’s acting president, Delcy Rodríguez, said in a message via Telegram.
Venezuela was hit by two earthquakes of magnitudes 7.2 and 7.5 less than a minute apart last Wednesday, toppling buildings and trapping thousands of people beneath the rubble, according to authorities and rescue teams.
Moran, described as three years old by Rodríguez, but as two years old by National Assembly president Jorge Rodríguez, was taken for medical treatment, the message said.
“We must hold on to the hope of continuing to find people alive beneath the rubble,” Jorge said in a televised address. “Early this morning, a two-year-old boy was rescued and is currently receiving care at a health centre in Caracas.”
A shipment from the UN children’s agency, Unicef, carrying 47 metric tons of humanitarian supplies arrived in Venezuela on Tuesday, UN spokesperson Stéphane Dujarric said, adding the equipment would help support children and families in need.
The shipment includes emergency health kits for urgent medical care, including supplies for safe births, newborn care, disease prevention, and treatment, Dujarric added.
The government puts the death toll at more than 1,900, with more than 10,000 people injured. Experts say that is a significant undercount as more bodies are hauled from the rubble every day and morgues struggle to handle the influx.
Among the living, a humanitarian crisis is unfolding. UN agencies expressed concern about the health effects of thousands of displaced people sleeping for days in the open, or in crowded, unsanitary shelters.
Open Questions
- What is the final death toll?
- How extensive is the damage to infrastructure?
- What are the long-term needs of survivors?
