“Every life matters,” Three-year-old rescued alive six days after Venezuela Earthquakes

Six days after Venezuela earthquakes, a rescue team in La Guaira successfully rescued a 3-year-old boy alive from beneath the rubble.

The incredible account of the three-year-old’s rescue in the most devastated northern region occurred while tens of thousands of people remained homeless following the 7.2- and 7.5-magnitude earthquake that struck less than a minute apart on June 24.

Authorities have reported around 2,000 deaths and rescued about 6,400 people. Several UN agencies and partners are on the ground in the worst impacted areas, collaborating with local authorities and aid partners to provide families with shelter, healthcare, protection, and other essential services.

“Every life matters,” the UN humanitarian coordination office, OCHA, stated on Wednesday, as national and international search and rescue teams remained on the ground in La Guaira.

UN Disaster Assessment Coordination (UNDAC) teams are also working to identify “where and for whom humanitarian assistance is required.” Veronique Durroux, UNDAC’s public information officer, stated.

Approximately 1,000 buildings, including hospitals, have been damaged or completely destroyed, along with approximately 400 schools and water infrastructure.

In response to the crisis, the United Nations Children’s Fund delivered the first 47-tonne delivery of humanitarian aid to Venezuela on Tuesday.

These supplies are in addition to the regional cargo from Panama that arrived on June 28. Over 100,000 children and families will receive assistance over the course of three months.

“UNICEF is on the ground, working tirelessly to assist as many children and families as possible. The first flights bearing water, medication, and other supplies have arrived in the country, and we are grateful for the solidarity. And we ask for donations to UNICEF because more money allows us to save more lives, reach more children, and help as many families as possible. UNICEF’s Gabriel Vockel spoke in La Guaira.

The shipment, managed by the European Union through the UNICEF logistics hub in Copenhagen, includes emergency health kits for rapid medical care, supplies for safe births, newborn care, disease prevention, and treatment.

Water purification and storage equipment, as well as child-friendly tents and wheelchairs, have all been sent out.

Other leisure and early childhood development products are intended to help children regain a sense of normalcy and continue learning.

“Families in the affected states urgently require safe water and access to health care,” said UNICEF Regional Director for Latin America and the Caribbean, Roberto Benes.

The agency predicts that over 680,000 children require humanitarian assistance in the six states ravaged by the earthquakes, which are the most devastating seismic event to hit Venezuela in over a century.

“Communities remain at risk from continuing aftershocks, which have numbered more than 600 since the initial quakes,” UNICEF said.

UNICEF anticipates that 52 million dollars are required to respond to the earthquake disaster, as part of their wider 2026 Humanitarian Action for Children request for Venezuela, which totals 137.6 million dollars. Prior to the earthquakes, only 35% were funded.