A two-year-old child has been rescued from the rubble of a collapsed apartment block in Caracas, six days after a devastating earthquake struck Venezuela. The rescue, which involved British search-and-rescue teams working alongside local responders, has injected a rare moment of hope into a crisis that has killed over 1,200 people. Whitehall sources confirm that UK aid workers were instrumental in coordinating the recovery effort, using specialist listening equipment to detect the child's cries.
'This is a triumph of training and tenacity,' a spokesman for the Foreign Office told me. 'Our teams are working round the clock in appalling conditions.' The child, named locally as Luisana, was found dehydrated but conscious.
She has been airlifted to a field hospital. The operation marks a rare success story in a disaster that has left much of Caracas in ruins and triggered a humanitarian emergency. Questions are being asked in Whitehall about whether the UK's rapid response capability is stretched too thin, given ongoing commitments in Ukraine and Gaza.
But for now, the focus remains on the survivors. 'This is what we do,' a senior aid worker said. 'We find people.
We save them.' The rescue has lifted spirits among the rescue teams, who have been working in high temperatures and frequent aftershocks. 'It's a reminder of why we are here,' the worker added.
'Every life matters.
