The scene was chaos. Dust still hung in the air. Then a cry cut through. A newborn, pulled from the rubble in La Guaira. British rescue dog teams were on the front line. They found the child. Alive.
Let me give you the inside line on this. The UK's International Search and Rescue team has been in Venezuela for three days. They brought six dogs. Spaniels, Labradors. Specially trained for disaster. The dogs worked through the night. They are the unsung heroes in this tragedy.
Local sources tell me the baby was trapped for nearly 18 hours. The mother did not survive. The father is in hospital. The team leader, a grizzled veteran from Essex, said it was the most difficult rescue he had ever been part of. The building collapsed like a pack of cards. Reinforced concrete, but shoddy workmanship.
The political angle? This is a delicate operation. Venezuela is a pariah state in Whitehall. But when disaster strikes, politics is set aside. The rescue team is on a humanitarian mission. No flags, no fanfare. Just search and rescue.
There is chatter in the Lobby that this could be a turning point in UK-Venezuela relations. A quiet diplomatic channel has opened. The Venezuelan ambassador was seen at the Foreign Office yesterday. Officially it was about consular access. Unofficially, well, you do the maths.
The baby is now in a local hospital. Stable condition. The team is still working. They have cleared 60% of the site. The window for finding survivors is closing. But if anyone can find them, it's these teams. They are the best in the world.
One thing this tells you about the game: when the cameras are off, the real work happens. The rescues, the diplomacy, the backroom deals. This is how power operates. Not in the Commons. In the ruins of a building in La Guaira.
I'll keep you posted. The situation is fluid. But for now, there is a small, fragile life that was saved. That matters more than any political calculation.
