Amid the devastation caused by the two earthquakes that shook Venezuela on Wednesday, June 24, images of firefighters and rescuers saving dogs trapped in the rubble became a symbol of hope. The videos of these rescues, widely shared on social media, presented a different face of the tragedy that has left hundreds of victims.
The Venezuelan authorities updated the official count of the emergency this Thursday: 188 people have died, and 1,520 have been injured, and more than 200 remain trapped under the debris of collapsed buildings, reported Jorge Rodríguez, president of the National Assembly.
One of the most widely reported rescues took place in the Pinto Salinas area of Caracas. Firefighters from the city’s Fire Department managed to rescue a puppy that was howling among the debris of a collapsed structure.
"In Pinto Salinas, where rescue teams are still searching for survivors within the collapsed structure, they rescued a puppy that was found among the rubble, crying out, and it is currently receiving care," reported a journalist from the scene.
After being rescued, the puppy was placed under the care of the Caracas Fire Department. While sharing the images, the newspaper El Universal captured the sentiments of thousands of people with a phrase that quickly went viral: "All lives matter."
A similar scene unfolded in the San Bernardino parish, also in Caracas, where emergency teams rescued a puppy that had one of its legs trapped in the debris of another collapsed building. In the rescue video, the rescuers can be heard encouraging the animal as they worked to free it.
"You have a little leg stuck. Yes, yes. Come on, come on, you’re caught. Stretch your feet, uh-huh. Come on, good, come on. Good, buddy, good," the rescuers told her until they managed to secure her safely.
In that same building, nearly 40 specialized firefighters worked, who also rescued four people alive, who were later taken to a hospital, along with a kitten that had also been trapped among the rubble.
Animal rescues were not limited to the capital. In the state of Aragua, emergency teams also saved a dog that was trapped in a collapsed structure, according to local media reports.
The newspaper El Tiempo highlighted the impact of these scenes by noting that, “amid rescue efforts in Venezuela, following the devastating earthquakes measuring 7.1 and 7.5 on June 24, teams have saved the lives of several little animals.”
The two earthquakes, recorded with just 39 seconds apart, are the most intense to occur in Venezuela since 1900. The state of La Guaira has been declared a disaster zone and suffers the most damage, with dozens of collapsed buildings, although the destruction also affected Caracas and the states of Miranda, Aragua, Carabobo, and Falcón.
Jorge Rodríguez also reported that at least 250 buildings suffered varying degrees of damage and that, since the main earthquakes, over 130 aftershocks have been recorded.
In light of the magnitude of the emergency, Colombia announced the dispatch of the specialized team USAR COL-1, comprising more than 60 rescuers, four canine teams, and 12 tons of equipment, which will depart this Thursday for Venezuela to assist in search and rescue efforts.
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