Rescue teams from El Salvador carried out a series of extraordinary rescues in Venezuela this Saturday, bringing to safety several individuals who had been trapped for over 70 hours under the rubble left by the earthquakes on June 24, deemed the worst in that country in more than a century.
The Salvadoran president Nayib Bukele documented the rescues in real-time through his social media. In the first announcement, published at 6:24 PM local time, he reported that his teams, along with rescue workers from the United States and Venezuela, pulled one person alive from the Nautilus building in Catia La Mar, after nearly 70 hours beneath the rubble. "Thank you, God. We ask you to allow us to save many more lives. Strength, Venezuela," Bukele wrote.
Minutes later, at 18:58, the president announced a second rescue: Hinda Ramírez, who was trapped in the Arrecife residence in Caraballeda. "We have rescued Hinda Ramírez alive," Bukele confirmed in another post, accompanied by a video where the rescuers can be heard shouting, "Let's go, Salvador! Thank you for the support!" as they carried her in their arms.
At 7:16 PM, Bukele reported that his teams had located Marlene Angulo, 69 years old, alive, although he cautioned that access was complicated.
"The access is difficult, but by the grace of God, we will achieve it," he wrote. In the rescue video, a rescuer introduces himself to the woman: "We are from the OHR of El Salvador. We are here to help you. Please stay calm; you will be with us very soon." Upon being rescued, Angulo requested a Coca-Cola, but the medical staff first had to stabilize her with intravenous hydration.
The three rescues take place in a race against time: the chances of survival decrease drastically after 72 hours under the rubble, making every person found alive an extraordinary event.
The earthquakes with magnitudes of 7.2 and 7.5 shook northern Venezuela on June 24, with epicenters in Yaracuy and Yumare, devastating the coastal area of La Guaira state.
The areas of Catia La Mar, Macuto, and Caraballeda have suffered the most damage, with over 346 buildings collapsed or severely damaged and an official toll rising to 1,430 dead and more than 3,360 injured.
Bukele deployed one of the largest humanitarian contingents in the history of El Salvador to Venezuela: 300 rescuers, 150 tons of aid distributed across six planes.
The teams operate under the acronyms USAR El Salvador and OHR El Salvador, and have worked alongside brigades from the United States —the Fairfax and Los Angeles teams— and from other nations. In total, 17 countries have sent more than 25 international teams with over 1,000 rescuers deployed in the area.
This Saturday is not the first time that Salvadoran rescuers have achieved remarkable rescues: days earlier, they had saved Nayarit Colmenare and Camila Sofía Medina Rivas, a 15-year-old girl, along with her pet, after being trapped for more than 48 hours.
The citizen platform Encuéntralos accounts for nearly 54,973 missing persons, a figure that suggests search efforts will continue for several more days amid the rubble of La Guaira.
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