The tense minutes of silence to try to hear survivors under the rubble in Venezuela

The tense minutes of silence trying to hear survivors under the rubble in Venezuela
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On a large, unstable mountain of concrete, iron and dust, about ten people remove blocks, stones and beams, hoping to find survivors or bodies in Venezuela.
Suddenly, everything stops. There are screams, running, hugs. A rescuer believes he hears a voice under the rubble. Hopeful, he thinks he is a survivor asking for help.
"My God, thank you", exclaims a woman in her 60s. "Is it true?", asks another, in disbelief, covering her mouth.
The news spreads quickly around the Mariola and Maribel Residences, in front of El Yate, a beach in La Guaira that used to be full of people enjoying a sunny day until Wednesday's earthquake in Venezuela destroyed almost everything.
Only one of the two towers in the complex remains standing: of the six floors, only four and a half remain, leaning, with the feeling that they could collapse at any time. moment.
The other tower appears to have been swallowed by the earth.
In a matter of seconds, hope spreads.
Ronnie Navarro traveled 350 kilometers from Puerto La Cruz, in western Venezuela, to La Guaira to help remove his uncle from the rubble
BBC Mundo
Several rescuers run towards the avenue and make desperate signs for them to turn off the engines, stop the cranes and silence the drills. The noise, yet another enemy at this moment in La Guaira, gradually diminishes.
The rescuers climb the rubble, kneel, bow their heads. They try to listen.
"Please, let them listen. Don't make any noise! It seems like there is someone here", asks one of them from above.
"Shhhh... silence, please", the message is repeated in a chain.
Silence shelters the hope of finding a survivor. On Saturday alone, 33 people still alive were rescued after an earthquake that officially left 1,719 people dead, according to a new report released by Jorge Rodríguez, president of the National Assembly, this Monday (29/6).
With every minute, hopes diminish.
The dozens of people present at the scene fall silent. In the background, you can hear the noise of other rescue areas. It makes you want to hold your breath.
"Say something so we can hear you, please. We are a team of rescuers!", they shout to an unknown recipient, hidden under kilos or tons of concrete.
These words break a silence that has become almost sacred, sepulchral, in the Mariola and Maribel Residences.
Neighbors, friends and family of the residents of the residential complex became the rescuers
BBC Mundo
The silence It is only interrupted by some whispers and the creaking of stones under the feet of those trying to approach without making noise.
"Let no one move!", shouts a voice with a tone of exasperation. "Let us hear, please!"
For ten minutes, time seems suspended. Nobody speaks. No one is breathing.
Neighbors alerted professional teams nearby. They arrive in a matter of minutes. But they leave almost as quickly.
There is no response to the call. No sound comes from the rubble.
Professionals declare it was a false alarm. And the expressions change drastically.
Even so, Ronnie Navarro is not willing to give up. He arrived on Saturday from Puerto La Cruz, a city about 350 kilometers from La Guaira, to help remove his uncle from the rubble.
Visibly exhausted, Ronnie looks at his companions, who continue to remove rubble.
"The [rescuer] who heard says there was someone alive. They are breaking the wall to see if they can get him out", Ronnie tells BBC News Mundo, unaware of the official statement of alarm false.
Rubble over the Caribe residential complex, in the parish of Caraballeda, state of La Guaira
BBC Mundo
"There are bodies there, crushed. We are cooperating with the families of those who lived there because the government does not want to help", he complains.
"The authorities are not saying anything. They pass by, take a look and leave. As they have no relatives there..."
About his uncle, there is still no news: "They haven't removed him yet", he says, his voice breaking.
The emotion that many felt a few minutes ago quickly gives way to frustration. And the frustration, both here and in the rest of La Guaira, begins to turn into revolt.
Zuly Marín, a 66-year-old bioanalyst, had lived for more than a decade in the Mariola and Maribel Residences. When the earthquakes occurred, she had gone shopping and, instead of returning home, decided to visit her father. This decision saved her life.
"I lost my niece and my brother-in-law", he tells BBC News Mundo "There was a delay in the rescue process. I think that if [the authorities] had arrived earlier, many people would have been saved."
Zuly Marín, a 66-year-old bioanalyst, has already given up hope of finding her niece and brother-in-law alive
BBC Mundo
A few meters away, Belkys Valecillo watches with fear the heavy machinery working on the main avenue and other neighboring buildings.
"My brother, my nephew and my sister-in-law are on the first floor of that tower, buried", he tells BBC News Mundo.
"An expert from El Salvador told us that he cannot understand how heavy machinery is working now, when, according to protocol, they should wait eight, nine or ten days, when there should no longer be people alive. It's barely been four days."
Belkys says that, in his brother's building, in the Caribe residential complex - which completely collapsed and is right next to the Mariola and Maribel Residences -, there are three families digging holes to extract their loved ones.
"They have already removed several dead people and there are more", he says.
Silence, in the midst of chaos, is essential to detect signs of life
BBC Mundo
As night falls, the power returns for a few In a few moments, on the pile of rubble where the Caribe residential complex once stood, some people begin to move quickly and desperately. Others run down the street asking for silence. Bring water for the rescuers!", shouts someone in the crowd, while around ten men work quickly.
The scene experienced at the Mariola and Maribel Residences is repeated. And the professionals declare another false alarm.
Half an hour later, among the rubble, in the depths, someone manages to see something.
There are two motionless bodies.
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Source: G1