‘We hugged each other and ran’

Scenes of panic, collapsing buildings and desperate rescues are the scenes described by Venezuelans caught in magnitude 7.2 and 7.5 earthquakes that struck the country within seconds of each other.

Caracas was among the hardest-hit areas on Wednesday as rescue teams searched through the rubble of collapsed buildings with thousands of people feared dead.

Jesus Alejandro Pina, a 38-year-old engineer in Caracas, said he was on the top floor of a seven-storey building when the earthquakes struck. “It was very, very strong,” he told Al Jazeera. “I don’t know exactly how long it lasted, but it felt like about a minute.”

“Glasses were breaking, pictures were falling, the television too. Everything was falling. The lamps, anything made of glass, even the columns and beams were making noise.”

As an engineer, Pina understood what was happening to the building as it shook. “The movement in the columns and beams helps absorb energy,” he said. “But if it lasts too long, it can reach a breaking point. That’s when collapses happen.”

When the shaking stopped, thousands of frightened residents rushed onto the streets and were met with scenes of horror and obliteration.

“Everyone was in the streets, in the squares, outside their homes. “People looked alert, nervous. There were many injured. Firefighters and paramedics were pulling people from under the rubble,” Pina said.