Father, son pulled alive from Venezuela earthquake rubble after four days trapped

A father and his son were rescued alive from the ruins of a collapsed building on Sunday, four days after powerful earthquakes devastated parts of Venezuela, offering a rare moment of hope as rescue teams continued their search for survivors.

French and US rescue workers pulled the weakened pair from the debris in La Guaira, carrying them on makeshift fabric stretchers through damaged streets to a waiting ambulance as crowds gathered nearby.

The coastal state was among the worst-hit areas after Wednesday’s earthquakes, which killed at least 1,450 people and left thousands missing.

The rescue operation took nearly 12 hours, with teams using specialized search cameras and carefully clearing unstable rubble to reach the trapped victims. Rescuers said the father and son were in critical condition after spending four days without proper food, water and medical care.

“They are extremely weak, as any patient trapped under rubble for four days would be,” a member of the French Civil Security team said, adding that efforts were underway to rehydrate them and provide medical treatment during the slow extraction process.

The rescue operation involved members of the French Civil Security and the Fairfax County Urban Search and Rescue Team from Virginia, who had rescued a mother and her nine-month-old baby a day earlier.

Before removing the victims, rescue teams prepared medical support, including intravenous fluids, while other workers continued searching nearby areas for signs of life and communicating with trapped survivors.

At least 33 people were rescued over the weekend, but tens of thousands remain missing, raising fears that the window for finding survivors is closing.

Experts say survival chances for people trapped beneath earthquake rubble decline sharply after the first 72 hours, making every successful rescue increasingly significant.