A three-year-old girl has been rescued from the rubble of a collapsed apartment block in Caracas, six days after the earthquake that levelled much of the city. The operation, a rare piece of good news in a disaster that has killed an estimated 10,000 people, was a joint effort by Venezuelan search teams and British specialists from the International Rescue Corps.
The child, identified only as Maria, was found in a pocket of air beneath a concrete slab. She was dehydrated and suffering from minor injuries but remarkably alive. Her mother had been killed in the initial quake. The rescue, broadcast live on Venezuelan state television, prompted cheers from the assembled crowd and a rare moment of unity in a country riven by political turmoil.
For Downing Street, the operation is a useful piece of soft power. The British team, dispatched within hours of the quake, has been working alongside Cuban and Chinese experts. The government is keen to highlight its role in the international response. But the politics are delicate. President Maduro has seized on the rescue to deflect from criticism of his government's handling of the disaster.
The real story here is the coordination. The British team used sniffer dogs and acoustic listening devices. The Venezuelans provided heavy lifting equipment and local knowledge. It worked. But Whitehall sources tell me this was touch and go. The political tensions between London and Caracas are well known. It took personal intervention from the Foreign Secretary to get the team on the ground.
Maria's rescue is a human story. It will be replayed on news channels around the world. But the game of politics continues. The government will claim credit. The opposition will point to the 48-hour delay in accepting international aid. The British team will go home. The rescue will be forgotten. But for now, a child is alive. That is the only thing that matters.
I understand the team is now heading to another site. There are still bodies to be found. The work continues. But for six days, hope was a commodity in short supply. Today, it was restored. Even if only for a moment.
