After La Guaira quake rescue pullback, families say they are left to recover the dead themselves

In northern Venezuela’s La Guaira state, residents contend that as international rescue teams departed and authorities shifted to rebuilding, they had little heavy equipment or official assistance to search rubble and retrieve bodies.

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Survivors in Venezuela’s La Guaira state say the transition from rescue to recovery has left many families to search earthquake wreckage with minimal support, even as the death toll continues to rise following the twin earthquakes that struck the region in late June.

The Washington Times report detailed the experience of Noel Márquez, whose high-rise residence collapsed and burst into flames during the earthquakes. Márquez, who was at his girlfriend’s apartment when the building failed, rushed home to look for relatives including his mother, grandparents and siblings. He said only one brother, 17-year-old Leonel, was able to answer, with his legs pinned under concrete columns that required heavy machinery to remove.

Márquez and his father, also reportedly trapped beneath concrete, described hearing Leonel’s cries while thick smoke and layers of debris confined them. According to the report, Leonel’s calls for help continued for hours as Márquez said they waited for a crane or similar equipment to free him, but the machinery never arrived, and Leonel’s cries eventually stopped.

Even after rescuers and search teams moved on, the Washington Times said Márquez’s anguish shifted to recovery. He told reporters he was left to try to free and identify family members’ remains with limited tools, including a saw, and that he was forced to abandon parts of the family still buried when he could not reach them or secure the time and equipment needed for full extraction.

A separate account published by the Los Angeles Times, drawing on reporting from the same disaster area, described residents digging through rubble with bare hands as international rescue efforts ended. That report said families remained without heavy machinery or official assistance to search for relatives’ remains, with authorities increasingly focused on sheltering displaced people and reconstruction.

The Los Angeles Times also reported rising anger over the government response, including allegations by residents that weaknesses in public housing construction may have contributed to the scale of harm. Those claims were described as accusations from affected residents, not as findings from any official investigation in the accounts reviewed.

According to an Associated Press report carried in a compilation posted online, the death toll in the aftermath of the June 24 earthquakes has risen to 3,535, and officials have warned that thousands more bodies may still be buried in Venezuela’s ruins. The same coverage said that as teams departed, families in La Guaira reported a shortage of equipment and manpower during the recovery phase.

As authorities continue to shift from emergency search operations toward longer-term rebuilding and displacement support, local families are seeking clearer timelines for equipment deployment, forensic access, and rescue and recovery staffing, while also pressing for accountability regarding both response capacity and disaster-preparedness in housing affected by the quakes.

Why It Matters

The shift from rescue to recovery can determine whether bodies are recovered promptly, how families can bury loved ones, and whether local morgues and sanitation systems face additional strain.
When heavy equipment and search teams leave early, residents may be forced to carry out extraction tasks themselves, raising risks for public health and safety and complicating identification and documentation.
Ongoing accountability questions include disaster preparedness for housing stock and the adequacy, timing, and reach of government and response efforts.
With thousands still unaccounted for, the pace of recovery operations affects local governance capacity, the credibility of casualty reporting, and the planning of long-term rebuilding.
For international responders, the case underscores the operational challenge of maintaining capacity through recovery, not just initial rescue.

Sources

Key Facts

Venezuela’s La Guaira state was hit by twin earthquakes on June 24, according to Associated Press coverage summarized in an online compilation.
In La Guaira, residents say international rescue teams departed and authorities shifted toward rebuilding and sheltering, leaving families to recover remains with limited official help.
Noel Márquez told reporters his high-rise collapsed and burned during the quakes, and he returned to search for his mother, grandparents and siblings.
Márquez said his 17-year-old brother, Leonel, was trapped under columns requiring heavy machinery, but the machinery did not arrive and Leonel’s cries stopped after hours.
The Associated Press summary cited a death toll of 3,535 and said thousands more bodies may still be buried in the ruins.
The Los Angeles Times reported anger among residents over the government response and included residents’ allegations about potential construction flaws, without citing official conclusions in the accounts reviewed.