Newborn Baby Rescued Alive 32 Hours After Venezuela Twin Quakes

A newborn baby has been rescued alive from the rubble of a collapsed building 32 hours after twin earthquakes devastated Venezuela’s coastal city of La Guaira.

The video footage shared on social media on Friday captured the emotional rescue as emergency workers, illuminated by floodlights, carefully pulled the infant from beneath the debris of a collapsed structure in the city, located north of the capital, Caracas.

The video showed rescuers gently passing the baby, wrapped in a quilt, applauding the successful operation. Moments later, medics were seen carefully cleaning the child with tissues before carrying the infant to safety.

According to Andreina Quintero, the social media user who shared the footage, the baby was just 18 days old and remarkably escaped without injuries despite spending 32 hours trapped under the rubble. The child’s mother had reportedly been rescued about an hour after the infant remained buried.

A follow-up video posted later on Friday showed the mother recovering in a hospital bed. A medical worker informed her that initial examinations indicated the baby had not suffered any visible injuries.

The medic suggested the child’s survival may have been due to the mother shielding the baby with her body or another protective object during the building’s collapse.

The rescue has emerged as a rare moment of hope amid the devastation caused by the twin earthquakes, which struck on Wednesday with magnitudes of 7.2 and 7.5.

The disaster has claimed at least 920 lives, while thousands of people have been injured or remain missing as rescue teams continue searching through the wreckage.

AFP