They brought rescue dogs, advanced hearing aids and cutting tools that could cut through concrete.
On Sunday, a team from the Los Angeles County Fire Department descended from a 10-story high-rise in Caraballeda, a coastal town devastated by Venezuela’s series of earthquakes, as part of a search for survivors.
Residents told authorities they believed eight people were trapped in the debris, said Assistant Fire Chief Trey Espy, who was at the scene. Rescue workers heard sounds that indicated there might be someone still alive, Espy told The Times.
The chances of rescuing survivors have been shrinking as each day has passed since twin earthquakes – one 7.5, the other 7.2 – struck Venezuela, leaving nearly 1,500 people dead and tens of thousands missing.
Members of the LA County international search and rescue team work inside a collapsed building in Catia La Mar, La Guaira province, Venezuela, on Sunday.
(Carlos Becerra/The Times)
Espy described the situation as “very bad,” with many high places leveled or caked in the tourist area.
“Everywhere you look, everything is collapsing or being removed from its foundations,” he said. “Some were destroyed. Some buildings fell on others.”
While LA County rescue teams do their work, people in Southern California gather to gather much-needed supplies, while searching for answers about their missing loved ones.
In Pasadena, volunteers at the Chamo Venezuelan Cuisine restaurant are collecting supplies, issuing a special request for bandages, gauze, painkillers and other over-the-counter medications.
Augusto Giancola, who was helping with the effort, said three to four people were arriving every hour “carrying trunks full of things.”
“There’s a sense of hopelessness,” the Pasadena resident said. “But we’re very optimistic people. It’s more about what we can do right now, figuring out how we can help.”
In downtown Los Angeles, dozens of volunteers collect donations on the sidewalk outside the Venezuelan restaurant Full Arepas. Volunteers organize these goods – toothbrushes, baby wipes, instant soup and many other items – and load them into boxes, drawing hearts on the outside with magic markers.
Volunteers collect donations on the sidewalk outside the Venezuelan restaurant Full Arepa in downtown Los Angeles on Sunday.
(David Zahniser / Los Angeles Times)
By mid-afternoon, a truck pulling up next to the restaurant was full of donations.
Kelly Montano, owner of Full Arepas, said her family members – her father, mother, cousin and many others – have been away since the earthquake. Organizing the relief campaign and running the business was keeping him strong as he waited to hear from his family, he said.
“It’s hard,” said Montano, who came to the US in 2015. “It’s hard, and I don’t know what’s going on now.”
By late afternoon, rescuers from LA County in Venezuela had begun work on another 10-story building — this one partially collapsed — where a security guard was trapped in a guard post in an underground parking garage.
Rescuers stand in the collapsed buildings in Caraballeda, Venezuela, on Sunday.
(Miguel Medina/Pool/AFP via AP)
A member of the Los Angeles County Fire Department crew identified as Felix walks past a partially collapsed building in Catia La Mar, La Guaira province, Venezuela, on Sunday.
(Carlos Becerra/The Times)
The team had already started cutting concrete and steel to get to the man who could be heard but not seen, said Espy.
“We are 30 meters away from him,” he said. “It will take us 12 hours, maybe more, before we can release him.”
The rescue team in the region includes not only firefighters and paramedics, but also doctors from the Department of Health and structural engineers trained to assess severely damaged buildings, Espy said.
Members of the Los Angeles County Fire search and rescue team work inside a collapsed building in Catia La Mar, La Guaira state, Venezuela, on Sunday.
(Carlos Becerra/The Times)
The team, known as USA-2, is in Venezuela and USA-1, made up of rescuers from Virginia’s Fairfax County fire department.
Espy said USA-1 rescuers pulled three survivors from the wreckage, including a 9-month-old baby. The US State Department, which launched the international rescue operation, announced that success.
“In the face of the impossible, hope endures,” the organization said in a social media post.
