More than two weeks after the double earthquake that devastated Venezuela on June 24, 2026, relatives and volunteers continue to dig improvised tunnels under collapsed buildings in La Guaira, without professional equipment and at the constant risk of being buried themselves.
The images, documented by journalist Laura Chiclana, show civilians with basic protection entering the remains of the OPE 27 building, where eight floors of collapsed structure weigh down on those working at the lower level.
One of the most heart-wrenching testimonies is that of a father searching for his 19-year-old daughter, John May, who is trapped along with her mother and grandmother after the building collapse.
The man explained that they had already managed to rescue two family members, but their main goal remained finding the young woman: "My goal right now is to get her out, that's the goal for everyone."
The volunteers working inside the rubble estimate that they have recovered around 30 bodies from the building, operating from the fourth level of a 12-story structure.
"We are surrounded by victims. Completely surrounded. With eight floors of building above us that could come down at any moment," warned one of the rescuers.
In the early hours, the volunteers oriented themselves by sounds they detected among the rubble: crackling and scratching that guided them toward possible victims. However, those signals faded as new collapses and the use of heavy machinery altered the structure.
The physical risk conditions are compounded by the shortage of oxygen inside the tunnels and the lack of proper tools for advancing the excavations.
The affected individuals made a direct appeal: "Tools, items that can be useful to us, it doesn’t matter about money, none of that, tools that can help us work here."
The most emphatic complaint points to the government of Delcy Rodríguez: "Here the government has not helped us at all, we are only helping each other, just family members," stated one of the volunteers during the efforts.
This case is not isolated. The father Alexander dug for 11 days with his own hands to recover the body of his 12-year-old daughter, also without assistance from the State.
And in previous weeks, a volunteer went viral with the phrase "Here there are more rifles than shovels" to denounce that the National Guard deployed more armed personnel than rescue teams.
The double earthquake on June 24 —with magnitudes of 7.2 and 7.5, just 39 seconds apart— was classified by the United States Geological Survey as the most powerful recorded in Venezuela since 1900.
In La Guaira, more than 250 buildings collapsed, leaving over 17,000 people homeless. The official death toll, as of now, exceeds 3,685 dead and 16,740 injured.
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