Environment

CARACAS - More search and rescue teams are arriving in Venezuela, but hopes are fading of finding survivors after Wednesday’s back-to-back earthquakes. At least 1 450 are known to have died, but the number is expected to rise - a missing persons website has more than 46 000 people on it. The walls outside hospitals in Caracas are slowly filling up with pictures of the missing, reports Yogita Limaye from the Venezuelan capital.

There is still a shortage of machinery needed to lift rubble, and some Venezuelans say the government hasn’t done enough. One man says he pulled his daughter halfway out of the rubble, but now needs equipment to finish the rescue. On Sunday, 33 people were found alive.

One UK firefighter in Venezuela says there’s usually a 96-hour window to find the most survivors - that ended on Sunday evening. Teams are now hoping for ‘miracle rescues’, he says. Survivors have been sharing details of their rescue as the search for others continues.

There is still a shortage of machinery needed to lift rubble, and some Venezuelans say the government hasn’t done enough. Schools have been shut across the Venezuela since the quakes hit on Wednesday, with the Education Ministry stating some would be repurposed as shelters and donation collection centres.

Bordering Venezuela’s Capital District, which contains Caracas, La Guaira has been one of the hardest hit states by the back-to-back quakes.

A website to help people find their relatives or friends hospitalised after the earthquakes struck has been launched.

Many Venezuelans have been critical of the government’s response to last week’s earthquakes, saying equipment and State manpower have been lacking, with many communities undertaking rescue work themselves. (Pic: Reuters)