Caraballeda, Venezuela. — Thirteen days after the devastating earthquakes that shook Venezuela, the family of Fabio, a nine-year-old boy who remains trapped in the rubble of the collapsed Tahiti building, reports that the absence of heavy machinery has paralyzed rescue efforts at that site.
While operations with specialized equipment continue in other areas, in this 12-story building, relatives and neighbors claim they have had to remove debris practically with their own hands, because cranes and backhoes have not yet arrived.
According to those close to the minor, together with Venezuelan firefighters, they have managed to identify through tunnels and spaces between the rubble the area where Fabio’s apartment was located, including his bedroom, the bathroom, and part of the living room. The family maintains hope of finding him, although they acknowledge that his mother passed away during the collapse.
The child’s father, Francisco Bastardo, stated that they continue to work tirelessly and asked for support to accelerate the search.
“We believe we are getting closer and closer, but we need the help of machinery to continue advancing,” he/she expressed.
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During the work, the family found the briefcase that the father had given to Fabio, who was passionate about astronomy and enjoyed observing the stars with a small telescope.
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Neighbors maintain that at least 22 people could remain in the building among the rubble and that so far no bodies have been recovered.
Aloa González, who is searching for her missing sister, explained that she managed to rescue and bury her parents shortly after the disaster, but has remained at the site ever since, trying to recover her relative.
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“The machines that have arrived in other areas are not enough and none have arrived here yet,” he lamented.
Following the initial search phase for survivors, authorities are now focusing efforts on debris removal and victim recovery, a task that could extend for weeks due to the magnitude of the destruction.
According to the official report, the two earthquakes have so far left 3,535 dead and 16,740 people injured, in addition to thousands of victims and hundreds of destroyed buildings.
Faced with this situation, relatives of the victims requested that the Venezuelan government and the international community reinforce the shipment of heavy machinery to speed up rescue and recovery efforts for
