A five-year-old Venezuelan girl, pulled from the debris of a collapsed apartment block in Caracas, has been taken into the care of her aunt, who has promised to provide the ‘warmth of a mother’ after the child’s parents were killed in the disaster. The rescue operation, which lasted 14 hours, ended early this morning when emergency workers extracted the child, identified only as Sofia, from the wreckage of the eight-storey building that gave way on Tuesday evening. The building, located in the working-class neighbourhood of Petare, is believed to have collapsed due to structural failures exacerbated by recent heavy rains.
At least 12 people are confirmed dead, with 23 others injured. The aunt, María González, 34, a street vendor, told reporters outside the hospital where Sofia is being treated for minor injuries: ‘I will give her everything I have. She will not be alone.
’ The government has declared a state of emergency in the area and promised an investigation into the collapse. However, local residents have long complained about the poor state of the building, which had been deemed unsafe by engineers in 2019. The incident underscores the broader crisis of Venezuela’s housing infrastructure, where decades of neglect and economic collapse have left millions living in substandard conditions.
Non-governmental organisations have called for urgent action to inspect and reinforce vulnerable buildings, particularly in low-income districts. For now, Sofia’s immediate future is secure, but her case highlights a systemic failure that continues to claim lives across the country.
