Venezuela's Volunteer 'Moles' Dig Through Rubble 12 Days After Quakes Killed 3,342
Updated
Updated · The Guardian · Jul 6
Venezuela's Volunteer 'Moles' Dig Through Rubble 12 Days After Quakes Killed 3,342
3 articles · Updated · The Guardian · Jul 6
Summary
Volunteer rescuers known as "moles" were still tunneling through collapsed apartment blocks in La Guaira on July 6, even as hopes of finding survivors faded more than a week after the June 24 earthquakes.
At Residencia Costa Brava and other pancaked buildings, unpaid searchers crawled through narrow gaps and hand-dug tunnels, recovering bodies while relatives joined the effort and waited for news of missing family members.
The disaster toll has reached 3,342 confirmed dead, with thousands feared trapped, while professional search operations have begun winding down and foreign rescue teams with dogs and specialized equipment remain on the scene.
Anger at the state response ran through the search sites: families said they had received little or no official help, and one volunteer who criticized the government's sluggish reaction was briefly detained before being released.