A three-year-old boy named Klieber Morán was rescued from the rubble six days after Venezuela was struck by two powerful earthquakes. Video footage showed a Jordanian rescue team cheering as the child was lifted from wreckage in La Guaira state. He was the only survivor reported on the sixth day of rescue efforts, according to local authorities.
Venezuela was hit by two earthquakes, magnitudes 7.2 and 7.5, less than a minute apart last Wednesday. The quakes toppled buildings and trapped thousands of people. The death toll has risen to 1,943, with more than 10,000 people injured and tens of thousands unaccounted for.
National Assembly President Jorge Rodríguez described the rescue as a moment of hope. "We must hold onto the hope of continuing to find people alive beneath the rubble," Rodríguez said in a televised address. "Early this morning, a boy was rescued and is currently receiving care at a health center in Caracas."
Klieber was taken to a hospital where he received first aid, with vital signs reported as good, according to the Jordanian civil defense. The rescue occurred as a shipment of 47 metric tons of humanitarian supplies from UNICEF arrived in Venezuela.
A humanitarian crisis is unfolding in the aftermath of the earthquakes. The World Health Organization (WHO) reported that Venezuela's healthcare system, already strained by underinvestment and economic crisis, is under extreme pressure. Many of those displaced in La Guaira state are also facing widespread food shortages. The lack of access to basic sanitation makes displaced populations vulnerable to preventable diseases, especially given low vaccination rates. Conditions are also conducive to the spread of waterborne infections such as dengue, yellow fever, and malaria.
According to the government, 38 hospitals nationwide were damaged or compromised by the earthquakes. The WHO has evaluated 21 of these facilities, finding three are no longer operating, six are damaged, and the remainder are struggling with the influx of injured patients. The loss of specialist doctors, including those responsible for maternity care in La Guaira, further complicates healthcare challenges in a country where millions, including medical professionals, have fled in recent years. The WHO noted chaotic service delivery, overcrowding, surgical backlogs, and a breakdown in biosafety measures.
