Ceilings collapsing on passengers, screams and darkness: this is how those at the Simón Bolívar International Airport in Maiquetía experienced the two earthquakes with magnitudes of 7.1 and 7.5 that struck Venezuela on Wednesday, June 24. So far, this has resulted in 164 deaths and over 900 injuries, according to a recent report from Delcy Rodríguez during a phone call with the state channel Venezolana de Televisión (VTV).
A video shared on social media captured the chaos inside the airport: passengers running in different directions down the aisles as pieces of the ceiling fell around them. Journalist Gitanjali Suárez from Unión Radio, who was in the security area preparing to travel, described it bluntly: "The ceilings were falling on people."
In addition to the damaged roofs, the two earthquakes that shook Venezuela left the counters of the airline Conviasa in ruins, caused pedestrian bridges in the parking lot to collapse, and resulted in damage to the access highway leading to Caracas. Passengers reported at least five aftershocks following the main quake.
The acting president Delcy Rodríguez announced the total closure of the terminal with no reopening date: "The Maiquetía airport is closed due to serious damage to its infrastructure." She also suspended the operations of the Caracas Metro and the Valles del Tuy Railway for inspections of possible structural damage.
In Caracas, the damage was especially severe in the eastern part of the capital. At least two buildings collapsed: the 14-story Petunia residential building in Los Palos Grandes and a Bancaribe building in Altamira. More than 90 structures were affected in the state of Miranda.
The Minister of the Interior Diosdado Cabello described "alarming situations" in those areas and ordered the preventive suspension of natural gas supply in buildings in the capital: "We have some damaged structures and we do not want any type of accident with the gas to occur."
The scenes of terror repeated in various parts of the city. Heidi Romero, a 42-year-old merchant who was at the Sambil in Chacao, recounted: "I don't even know how long it lasted. I was on the top floor. We exited through the emergency stairs; that's where they took us out." Odalis Escalona, a 54-year-old bank employee, described: "The stairs broke off, the entire wall cracked. Things fell from the ceiling. It was horrible." María Romero, an 80-year-old retiree, told Reuters: "The building was shaking. The police helped me down because I couldn't."
Rodríguez declared a constitutional state of emergency across the country, suspended school classes, and announced the creation of a 200 million dollar fund to address the crisis. La Guaira was declared a "disaster zone," and authorities warned that the victim counts are "preliminary" and could increase, as full access to the area had not yet been achieved.
The United States Geological Survey estimates between 10,000 and 100,000 possible fatalities with a 42% probability according to its automatic alert system PAGER, which assigned a maximum red alert level. This is a probabilistic estimate, not an actual count, but it reflects the magnitude of the disaster on infrastructure already deteriorated by years of economic crisis.
The United States announced the immediate dispatch of rescue equipment and humanitarian aid to Venezuela. Rescue operations are ongoing as authorities warn that the number of deceased and injured may change as access is gained to areas that are still cut off.
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