As a series of powerful earthquakes that struck Venezuela left at least 1,700 dead and tens of thousands missing, footage of an 18-day-old newborn and its mother being dramatically rescued from the rubble of a collapsed apartment building has drawn widespread attention. While the miraculous survival has brought hope to Venezuela, the combined number of dead and missing is expected to reach tens of thousands as the 72-hour golden time, considered the watershed for saving lives, has passed.
A Mother Who Did Not Lose Hope Even With Her Legs Trapped Under Concrete
According to Britain's BBC on Monday, the mother and child, rescued on Sunday in La Guaira state, where the earthquake damage was concentrated, are currently receiving treatment at a hospital. The mother, Dayana Patiño, injured both legs during the earthquake, but her son, Juan David, was rescued with only minor injuries.
According to the report, Patiño was washing dishes in her eighth-floor apartment when the shaking began during the earthquake on Saturday, and she embraced her newborn son. But the building soon collapsed, trapping them in the debris. "I decided not to waste my strength needlessly and to shout only when I could hear a person's voice or footsteps nearby," Patiño said. "I don't know how I could be so calm even with my left leg pinned under concrete." Recalling the moment, she said, "As long as my baby lived, I had to live," and "I kept touching his nose to check whether he was breathing."
She said she did not lose hope even as her legs were pinned under concrete and a rock pressed near her temple, feeling a small light shining through a gap in the rubble and sensing a Bible beneath her body. The rescue began with the voices of her family calling her name. "I thought this was my only chance, so I shouted 'I'm here' with all my strength," she said. After hours of work, the rescue team safely pulled the mother and child, who had been crouched beneath the pile of concrete, out of the rubble. Widely circulated rescue footage shows her husband, Gerson, holding the small baby in his arms, his eyes tightly shut and overwhelmed with emotion. "I thought the two of them were dead," he said. "The moment I saw my son, I felt as if I had been reborn, and that life had returned." The family lost their home and all their belongings in the major earthquake, and their dog is still missing, but they firmly said, "We will start everything over from the beginning." The BBC reported that baby Juan David, who miraculously survived the disaster, has become a symbol of hope for the Venezuelan people, who were deeply shocked by the catastrophe.
The Golden Time Has Passed... Despair Deepens at the Scene
Along with the newborn and its mother, news also came from another site that a 21-year-old man was rescued 106 hours after the earthquake struck. While such dramatic survival stories occasionally emerge, the human toll is rising exponentially as the 72-hour golden time for saving lives has passed. The Venezuelan government and international organizations are bracing for the worst-case scenario.
According to The New York Times (NYT) and other foreign media, Jorge Rodríguez, Speaker of Venezuela's National Assembly, said in a televised address Monday that the officially confirmed death toll from the series of strong earthquakes on Saturday had risen to 1,719. This is an increase of 269 from the 1,450 deaths announced the previous day. The number of injured was tallied at 5,034 and the displaced at 15,866. The missing were estimated at about 46,000, but this is not an official government figure.
Rodríguez explained that more than 600 aftershocks had occurred since the magnitude 7.2 and 7.5 earthquakes on Saturday through that day. A magnitude 4.6 aftershock also occurred that morning, and residents in the capital, Caracas, and surrounding areas felt strong shaking. Rodríguez said 855 buildings nationwide had been damaged, a figure that is increasing daily. He added that 189 had completely collapsed.
With the 72 hours considered the "golden time" for rescuing survivors after an earthquake having passed, the Venezuelan government and the United Nations are also preparing for the worst-case scenario.
Gianluca Rampolla del Tindaro, the UN Resident Coordinator in Venezuela who is carrying out relief operations on the ground, said in a video briefing for reporters at UN headquarters in New York that day that, in preparation for the rising death toll, the UN was working with the Venezuelan government to secure 10,000 body bags to hold the dead. "This is based on a kind of assumption, and it is very unfortunate," del Tindaro said. "We sincerely hope the actual number of victims will be lower than that." He explained that 40 search-and-rescue teams, comprising a total of about 2,000 people from 27 countries, had been mobilized.
Del Tindaro said, "A tropical wave bringing heavy rain is expected to arrive within the next few hours," expressing concern over further damage to the displaced who have already lost their homes and are taking shelter.
