Hopes of finding more survivors days after two powerful earthquakes struck Venezuela are fading by the hour as aftershocks continue to shake the country.
At least 1,700 people have been killed and as many as 50,000 have been reported missing, say authorities amid growing criticism the government’s response was inadequate.
Even as the likelihood of finding people alive diminished, local and international rescuers continued to pull survivors from the rubble of collapsed buildings, offering anguished families a sliver of hope.
Two 11-year-old boys were found alive separately in La Guaira, one of the hardest-hit states, and in the town of Caraballeda.
Venezuela’s Interim President Delcy Rodríguez said over 2,600 rescue workers from Mexico, Spain, Qatar, the US and UK had arrived with trained search dogs and machinery.
Despite the “most brutal natural catastrophe“ in Venezuela’s history, she said: “We always maintain hope.”
The first 48 to 72 hours after a natural disaster are crucial to rescue efforts, though survival can be extended if people have access to food and water.
The magnitude 7.2 and 7.5 quakes last week left a trail of devastation and caused more than 770 buildings to collapse, leaving many trapped inside.
The United Nations said up to 6.8 million of Venezuela’s nearly 30 million residents may be affected.
A layer of dust coated coastal communities, and as the stench of decomposing bodies spread, more people began to wear masks.
The risk of further damage remains as aftershocks measuring 4.2 and 4.5 hit the nation.
Rodruigez shared a video of a young man named Aaron Levi Cantillo, who was pulled out of the rubble after being trapped for 106 hours
An 11-year-old boy, named Moises, was pulled from under about 3m (9.8ft) of debris.
A Colombian rescuer was reportedly overheard on a walkie-talkie saying the young boy was found near his sister and mother, who had both died.
Crowds gathered when rescue crews from the US, France and Venezuela hauled a man and his son from a crack in the concrete, covered in dust and almost unresponsive.
Helmet-clad teams pulled them on a black tarp and passed the two carefully through the crowd to an ambulance to hydrate them through an IV.
Onlookers burst into applause in a moment of relief, then rescuers continued working.
Authorities said they had treated more than 3,100 wounded people, including many with crush injuries.
The disaster poses a significant challenge for Rodríguez, the former vice president who took office in January after the US capture and subsequent removal of Nicolás Maduro.
Since then, Washington has played an increasingly powerful role in dictating the future of the South American nation.
Venezuela faced economic disarray for more than a decade and many people reject the legitimacy of the political movement Rodríguez represents.
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