A three-year-old child has been rescued from the wreckage of a collapsed building in Caracas, six days after a catastrophic earthquake levelled swathes of the city. Sources close to the rescue operation confirm the toddler was found alive in a pocket of air beneath a concrete slab, dehydrated but conscious. The child was rushed to Hospital Universitario de Caracas, where doctors are treating severe crush injuries and dehydration.
The rescue has defied expectations. Seismologists had advised that survival beyond 48 hours in such conditions is rare. But the numbers of missing across the capital continue to climb.
Official figures remain unclear. The government, under pressure to account for slow rescue efforts, has yet to release a full death toll. Internal documents leaked to this newsroom suggest the casualty count could exceed 5,000, with more than 15,000 missing.
The earthquake, which registered 7.8 on the Richter scale, struck at 2:47 a.m.
local time on Monday. It decimated neighbourhoods built on unstable hillsides and without modern building codes. Corruption in the construction sector has long been documented.
A 2019 investigation by this reporter uncovered widespread bribery in the issuing of building permits. Developers paid off inspectors to bypass safety regulations. Many of the buildings that collapsed were erected by firms linked to state-owned oil company PDVSA.
The CEO at the time, now under house arrest, allegedly approved contracts to shell companies. The trail of money leads offshore, to Panama and Switzerland. Now the bodies are being counted.
Rescue workers, many untrained and unpaid, are digging with bare hands. Heavy machinery has arrived only in the past 24 hours, delayed by fuel shortages and bureaucratic hurdles. The international community has offered aid, but the Maduro government has been slow to accept, fearing a loss of control.
In the midst of this chaos, the toddler's rescue offers a glimmer of hope. But the hard questions must be asked: how many more could have been saved if the government had acted faster? Why were building regulations not enforced?
Who profits from this tragedy? This story is developing. Further revelations are expected.
