“Silence invades La Guaira in search of life after the earthquakes”

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Catia La Mar. – Calls for silence have spread across different locations in La Guaira, the Venezuelan state most affected by Wednesday’s double earthquake, in search of any sound that might signify life amidst the rubble.

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In dozens of buildings, throughout the coastal region near Caracas, rescuers, firefighters, police, and military forces are tasked with removing debris, using machinery and by hand, in the hope of finding someone alive.

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Family members remain hopeful, but Venezuelan doctors, rescuers, and military personnel say that the chances, on the sixth day of the search, are increasingly slim following Wednesday’s 7.2 and 7.5 magnitude earthquakes, which have so far left at least 1,943 dead and more than 10,500 injured.

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However, when the rescuers suddenly shout “silence” and raise their fists, everything goes quiet and everyone stays frozen where they are; at first, nothing is heard, and it is prolonged for several minutes as a preventive measure to exhaust all possibilities.

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“When we ask for silence it is very important because at that moment we place the geophones,” Spanish soldier Alberto Vázquez, part of a team from the Military Emergencies Unit (UME) deployed in Venezuela since Friday, June 26, told EFE.

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The device, he explained, is placed on the concrete floor and any movement the trapped victim makes, such as scratching a little or pushing the wall with their knuckles, will be heard.

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The importance of silence

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Silence is important, says Vázquez because if someone external makes noise or walks by, it distorts it and the geophone can give a false positive.

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In the Caribe residential complex, in Caraballeda, there are several searches going on at the same time today. The National Bolivarian Police (PNB), the Corps of Scientific, Penal and Criminal Investigations, military personnel, and rescuers are dividing themselves into various sectors of the collapsed buildings and alerting each other when they believe there might be a sign.

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The search continues in other residences throughout Caraballeda and Catia La Mar, the most affected localities, with calls from State security officials to turn off all vehicles driving along the main road, which is causing long lines of stopped cars and motorcycles.

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Search efforts will continue

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According to figures from the Government of Venezuela, as of today 6,461 people have been rescued, while in the disaster zone there are 3,660 foreign rescuers, 148 dogs, 49 support vehicles and 26,121 Venezuelan personnel.

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“We must remain in the incessant search for people alive. We must remain in the hope of continuing to find people alive under the rubble,” requested the president of Parliament, Jorge Rodríguez.

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Venezuelan authorities are not updating the number of missing persons, at a time when several organizations are tracking this figure and have established support networks to locate family members.

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Opposition leader María Corina Machado is promoting a website developed by technicians and civil society so that people can report their missing relatives. So far, the platform has registered 42,664 people who have not yet established contact with their loved ones.

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