Venezuela Earthquakes: Rescue Teams Race to Find Trapped Survivors

Rescue teams in Venezuela are racing to reach hundreds of people believed to be trapped beneath collapsed buildings after powerful earthquakes struck the country Wednesday.

Cesar Jimenez, a member of Project HOPE's response team, said some health facilities remain operational despite moderate damage. Others have suffered severe structural damage and cannot safely treat patients because of continuing aftershocks.

"We cannot risk treating patients inside facilities that are vulnerable to collapse," Jimenez told NPR's Morning Edition.

Jimenez said responders are working despite widespread power and communications outages.

He described extensive destruction in the hardest-hit areas, where apartment buildings, hotels, businesses and homes have partially or completely collapsed.

"It's really heartbreaking," he said. "There are still hundreds of people trapped under the buildings."

Jimenez said local civil protection crews continue searching for survivors, while international aid has begun arriving from countries including El Salvador, Mexico, Switzerland and the United States. Search-and-rescue teams with canine units, along with shipments of water, medical supplies and equipment, are joining the response.

He said Venezuela's health system was not prepared for an emergency of this scale.

"No country is ever prepared for this kind of catastrophic emergency," Jimenez said.