Tragedy in Venezuela: Argentine rescuers search for a girl under rubble in collapsed building

Tanaguarena, Venezuela.- What was once a 12-story building now looks like a four-story structure. The rest was buried under a mountain of concrete after the earthquakes on June 24. In that hell of compressed cement, where there once were apartments, hallways, and a barbershop, Argentine rescuers from the Evacuation and First Aid Corps (CEPA) advance inch by inch.

Among the rubble, the brigade members find heartbreaking reminders: a dust-covered stuffed animal, a report card, a note that says «Happy Father’s Day, Daddy.» «It’s extremely hard to see and understand who lived there, where a musician lived, where a family with children lived,» says Cristian Luccisano, a member of the Argentine team.

CEPA was immediately assigned to OPP-25, one of the buildings with the highest number of victims. The noise of drills and cranes does not stop. A few meters away, a house serves as a temporary shelter for the recovered bodies, under a protocol that prohibits filming to preserve the privacy of the victims.

One area draws all the attention: under a huge beam, they believe a little girl is trapped. Her grandfather, who already managed to rescue his wife and daughter alive, has been waiting for days. With a helmet, gloves, and a sledgehammer, he works like another rescuer, ignoring cuts and dust.

Daniel Iglesias, another CEPA member, has just emerged from a narrow tunnel opened between two slabs. His face is covered in dust, and he catches his breath after spending nearly half an hour under the rubble. «We are trying to remove a beam that is pinning a kitchen appliance. Behind that, there is possibly a bed with a little girl. Her grandfather is always here, asking us to help him. Today we set ourselves the goal of recovering that granddaughter,» he says.

The desperation of the families surprises even the most experienced. «It’s incredible how people with just a sledgehammer make a huge hole that would take us hours,» adds Daniel.

The operation chief, Esteban Chalá, describes the scale of the tragedy: «It was enormous. Fourteen floors, 16 apartments per floor, and on the ground floor a commercial gallery with a children’s party hall. A party was taking place there. We have already recovered seven bodies of the children who were at that party. We still have many left.»

The work is being carried out on eight simultaneous fronts. «We coexist with their relatives, many helping, who guide us to the apartments and locations. We found many people in the hallways, in the stairwells,» explains Chalá.

The building collapsed in seconds. «Some people with the first earthquake managed to leave the apartment and reach the hallways, but when the second earthquake came, it collapsed quickly. There was no time for anything. That’s why we find many people in their beds,» he says.

Recovering a single body can take half a day. «It has taken us 10, 12 hours of work to remove a single body,» summarizes Esteban. So far, only in OPP-25, the Argentine team has already recovered more than 60 bodies.

Luccisano admits he never imagined facing a tragedy of this magnitude. «Today we have returned 50 victims to their families so they can give some peace to those left behind.»

Meanwhile, Daniel puts his helmet back on. «I don’t think twice. Never. If you think twice, maybe you don’t do it.»

In the coastal area of La Guaira, the emergency will slowly begin to enter a new phase. Machines have started removing rubble, which is being transported to the beaches. There is talk that one of the plans is to dump it into the sea. But at OPP-25, time moves slowly. A large part of the building remains buried underground, and the rescuers know that the work will not end in days, but in months or years.

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