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Four days after the earthquakes

Rescue teams continue to search for survivors in the rubble in La Guaira state, Venezuela. Until now, the official death toll exceeds 1,450 people. Thousands of people remain missing.

Although the chances of finding people alive are reduced as the hours go by, this Sunday rescuers from the United States and France managed to extract a man and his son trapped under a collapsed building. The discovery renewed hope for dozens of families who are still waiting for news of their loved ones.

Criticism of the official response

Residents of the affected areas assure that the first rescue tasks were carried out by volunteers and civilians. The government’s slowness in addressing the emergency has generated strong questions. Authorities report that more than 770 buildings were destroyed or severely damaged.

The United Nations confirmed the participation of more than 2,200 rescuers from various countries in the operations. The International Organization for Migration warned that up to six million people could be affected, including about two million residents of Caracas.

As the aftershocks continue, the risk of new landslides persists. Emergency teams continue searching through the collapsed buildings. The Simón Bolívar International Airport is still in the process of reestablishing operations to facilitate the arrival of international aid.

Second military deployment in the midst of the emergency

A new contingent of United States Marines arrived in Venezuela this Sunday to join the search and rescue efforts after the two earthquakes recorded last Wednesday. According to the US embassy in Caracas, members of the Litoral Combat Force-24, along with sailors from the USS Fort Lauderdale, disembarked in the port of La Guaira with heavy vehicles and supplies.

Simultaneously, another group of Marines arrived by air in Bell UH-1Y Venom helicopters to work in the most affected areas. It is the second deployment since the emergency began; the first, two days ago, included military engineers and rescue specialists.

Cooperation with the new Venezuelan government

The arrival occurs almost six months after Nicolás Maduro was captured in Caracas by US forces and transferred out of the country. After that event, the then vice president Delcy Rodríguez assumed power and changed relations with Washington.

Rodríguez has publicly thanked the assistance of the United States and confirmed conversations with the Secretary of State, Marco Rubio, to coordinate aid in the face of the humanitarian crisis. Cooperation is managed by the State Department with support from the Southern Command.

On the ground, operations are under the supervision of Marine Major General Kevin J. Jarrard, in charge of facilitating the rescue and distribution of assistance to the affected population.

Details of the accident

Eleven people died this Sunday in Tomblaine, northeastern France, when a skydiving plane crashed shortly after takeoff. The aircraft, a Pilatus PC-6 with German registration, took off from the Nancy-Essey airfield and landed less than a minute later in a green area near a residential area and a shopping center. There were no casualties on the ground.

The prefect of Meurthe-et-Moselle, Yves Séguy, indicated that the device fell “almost vertically” after an apparent technical failure. Among the deceased are the pilot and the ten occupants: five skydiving instructors and five people who were making their first jump in tandem mode.

Investigation in progress

The emergency services deployed an extensive operation. The police asked the population to avoid the surrounding area to facilitate access for rescue teams. Psychological support teams were mobilized to assist family members and witnesses, several of whom witnessed the accident from the airfield.

The Nancy Prosecutor’s Office opened a judicial investigation, while the aeronautical authorities began a technical investigation to clarify the causes, which for now remain undetermined. The French Minister of the Interior, Laurent Nuñez, went to the scene of the accident, considered one of the most serious accidents involving a light civil aircraft in France in recent years.