Venezuela: CNN Internacional anchor follows rescues of missing people

The earthquakes that hit Venezuela last week have already left almost 2,000 people dead, according to official data, in addition to thousands of injured and homeless people. CNN Internacional anchor Isa Soares closely followed the rescue operations directly from Caracas, revealing a scenario of despair and precarious infrastructure.

The hope of finding more survivors diminishes by the minute. In an eight-story building in the Venezuelan capital, rescue teams identified that 12 people died and only 3 were removed alive, serving approximately 20 affected families.

In the last two days prior to the report, no survivors had been found, although operations continued.

Families wait in agony for news
Among those waiting outside the rubble is Mirella Herrera, who remains there every day looking for signs of life for her son, her daughter-in-law and her granddaughters.

"Because I feel desperate", she reported, describing the anguish of imagining family members trapped under the wreckage.

Still, Mireia doesn't lose hope: "I feel like my son is strong, and I feel like he's waiting, that he knows I'm here waiting for him. That's why I didn't want to abandon him."

Hospitals without the structure to meet demand
The tragedy also exposed the fragility of the Venezuelan health system. In the main hospital in Caracas, professionals reported extreme difficulties in treating the victims.

Pediatric intensive care physician Dr. Huniades Urbina-Medina, with two decades of experience in pediatrics, described the critical situation: "We are not prepared in Venezuela for day to day life. But with this catastrophe, it is worse, because we do not have enough medicines, equipment, personnel."

Among the patients treated was a 12-year-old girl with multiple injuries caused by the collapse of structures on her body.

The pediatrician stated that the unit would have the capacity to receive at least 10 patients in the service area, but that, for at least 10 years, it has operated with insufficient staff, a lack of medication and the absence of mechanical ventilators, being able to care for only four patients simultaneously.

The tragedy, according to Isa Soares, is the consequence of years of crisis and mismanagement, which have now come to light in an even more brutal way.

The texts generated by artificial intelligence on CNN Brasil are made based on video cuts from the newspapers in its programming. All information is investigated and checked by journalists. The final text is also reviewed by the CNN journalism team. Click here to find out more.

Source: CNN