A six-year-old boy was pulled from the wreckage of a collapsed apartment block in Caracas this afternoon, as British aid workers raced to deliver emergency supplies to the earthquake-ravaged region. The child, identified only as Miguel, was trapped for nearly 14 hours after a 7.2 magnitude quake flattened swathes of the capital. First responders, including a team from the UK-based relief organisation Global Response, used thermal imaging to locate him beneath a concrete slab. A source on the ground described the moment: “We heard a faint cry. The cuts on his arms were deep, but he was alive. The lads dug with their hands until they got him out.”
The quake struck at 3:47 a.m. local time, sending thousands fleeing into the streets as buildings swayed and collapsed. Official figures remain unconfirmed, but the Red Cross estimates at least 200 dead and over 1,500 injured. The Venezuelan government has declared a state of emergency, though their response has been hampered by years of economic collapse and crumbling infrastructure.
UK aid workers are among the first international teams to arrive. A convoy of trucks carrying water purification tablets, medical kits, and high-energy biscuits crossed the border from Colombia early this morning. A senior logistics coordinator for Global Response told me: “Every road is a mess. Bridges down, landslides everywhere. We’re using motorbikes and even mules to get supplies to the worst-hit barrios.” The Department for International Development has pledged £5 million in emergency funding, but critics note that the UK’s aid budget has been slashed by nearly 30 per cent since 2020.
In the barrio of Petare, where Miguel was rescued, residents are digging through rubble with bare hands. One local nurse, who asked not to be named, said: “The hospitals are overwhelmed. We need surgeons, not biscuits.” The boy’s mother was found dead beneath the same collapsed wall. His father remains missing. Aid workers are now racing to reunite displaced children with relatives before nightfall, when gang violence in the city often spikes.
The British Embassy in Caracas has issued a statement urging UK nationals to register their whereabouts. But for most Venezuelans, there is no embassy to call. The country’s oil wealth has been looted by successive regimes, and the Maduro government’s refusal to accept foreign disaster experts has slowed the international response. A UN official told me: “We have teams ready to deploy, but the political roadblocks are absurd. People are dying while bureaucrats argue over paperwork.”
Meanwhile, the Chavista-run state TV is broadcasting images of Maduro visiting a makeshift shelter, handing out blankets to families. But on the ground, few believe the government has the capacity to manage this crisis. The UK’s emergency relief may save lives today, but the deeper rot – corruption, neglect, and a disintegrating state – will remain long after the cameras leave. Miguel is now being treated at a field hospital set up in a school gym. He has a fractured leg and a concussion. But when the nurse asked him what he wanted, he said: “I want my mami.”
