Hope persists for boy trapped in Venezuela rubble

Caraballeda, Venezuela, July 3 (EFE).- International rescue teams deployed drones and sniffer dogs on Friday in an effort to locate signs of life from a 9-year-old boy who has been trapped beneath a collapsed apartment building in Venezuela’s La Guaira state for nine days following the June 24 earthquakes.

A Spanish rescue team carried out thermal imaging with drones and used search dogs to determine whether the child, Fabio, could still be alive beneath the rubble.

Family members say they have heard signs that he is still alive, a claim Venezuelan rescue workers have also reported.

Fabio’s grandmother, Rebecca, told EFE that she and other relatives have been searching for the boy since the building collapsed.

According to Rebecca, Fabio responded to rescuers’ calls with a whistle on Sunday, and family members heard banging noises again on Friday morning.

She said official rescue teams did not arrive until Sunday, leaving the family to search through the rubble on their own during the first days after the collapse.

Rescuers estimate that Fabio is trapped about six meters below the surface of the debris inside the remains of the 12-story building in Caraballeda, the coastal town that suffered some of the worst destruction in the June 24 earthquakes.

Specialized rescue teams from Venezuela, El Salvador, and Argentina are taking part in the operation.

Civil Protection told EFE that the rescue operation formally began at 11:00 p.m. local time on Wednesday.

One army officer told EFE that Fabio’s father believes the boy may be trapped beside a deceased person, believed to be his mother.

Another rescuer said there could be at least six other people beneath the rubble.

Rescue crews are stabilizing the damaged structure before attempting to reach the child because of the risk of further collapse. They warned that the operation could take considerable time.

International rescue teams continued their search on Friday after rescuing 43-year-old Venezuelan security guard Hernán Gil on Thursday, raising hopes that more survivors could still be found despite the diminishing chances as time passes.

Gil was pulled alive from the rubble after spending eight days trapped beneath a collapsed building following a 72-hour operation involving more than 100 international rescuers in the Playa del Mar neighborhood.

The death toll from the magnitude 7.2 and 7.5 earthquakes that struck northern Venezuela on June 24 has risen to nearly 2,600, while 12,400 people have been injured, according to the latest official figures. EFE

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