A newborn baby was pulled out alive from beneath the rubble of a collapsed building after being trapped for 32 hours in the aftermath of two violent earthquakes that shook Venezuela.
It comes as the death toll from the tremors rose to 920, with tens of thousands still unaccounted for.
Footage shows the moment rescuers in the city of La Guaira – which has been declared a disaster zone – moved the baby away from the debris and handed it over to a man, who appeared to be the father.
The infant’s mother was also pulled alive from the rubble, according to AFP.
It comes as more than 50,000 people are missing after a 7.2 magnitude earthquake shook the South American nation, which was followed by a 7.5 magnitude tremor seconds later.
The situation has grown more desperate by the hour in Venezuela as people dig through the rubble of collapsed homes and apartment buildings three days after the disaster, knowing time is running out to find survivors.
Caracas residents on Friday jeered Venezuela’s leader during her visit to a neighbourhood badly affected by the twin earthquakes, as fury over a lack of government response mounted.
Footage shows Rodriguez being greeted with angry chants from a crowd of people whose loved ones were trapped under the debris.
A newborn baby was pulled out alive from beneath the rubble of a collapsed building in Venezuela
Footage shows the moment rescuers in the city of La Guaira moved the baby away from the debris and handed it over to a man, who appeared to be the father
It comes as the death toll from the tremors rose to 920
‘The government isn’t doing anything for the people,’ they yelled from behind cordons next to a pulverised building.
Aid agencies consider the first 48 to 72 hours to be a crucial time frame to retrieve people alive, though that period can be extended if they have access to food and water.
International rescue teams have flocked to Venezuela to boost a desperate and slow-moving search for survivors.
The coastal area of La Guaira, near the capital Caracas, was the worst hit, with one building after another crumpled by the magnitude 7.2 and 7.5 quakes.
Authorities announced on Friday night that they would block access to La Guaira, the epicentre of the destruction, as chaos and traffic were hampering search efforts.
Officials said anyone who wants to enter would now have to seek official permits, but provided few details of who would be allowed in.
More than 14,000 members of the military and police are patrolling the area, Rodríguez said on state television Saturday.
It has emerged that a footballer’s wife was killed in the devastating earthquakes as she acted to save the life of her one-year-old daughter.
Acting President Delcy Rodriguez visits a quake-damaged area where rescue workers are searching for survivors in Caracas, Venezuela, Friday, June 26, 2026, two days after twin earthquakes struck the country
Picture of a building destroyed during twin earthquakes in Caraballeda
President Delcy Rodriguez (C) and Venezuela’s National Assembly President Jorge Rodriguez visiting the area strongly affected by the earthquake in La Guaira, on June 25, 2026
Rescuers found Andrea Bello’s body among the rubble, but her daughter, Alana, survived following her mother’s efforts to shield her during their home’s collapse.
In raw social media posts, husband Hector Bello, a defender for Venezuela’s second division side Marítimo de La Guaira, shared his heartbreak, saying: ‘You left us alone in the fight, mummy. You left me all alone with our daughter.
‘Andrea, how do I explain to your daughter that you lost your life to save hers and I wasn’t there in that moment to do anything? How do I explain? Give me strength now because I can’t take any more.’
The UN humanitarian agency OCHA said search and rescue teams from at least 17 countries were being mobilised to help find survivors.
Spanish, Salvadoran, Swiss, Colombian, and Mexican rescue teams were already on the ground, while a British team has also been deployed.
Elsewhere, family members, neighbours, and volunteers used their bare hands to try to dig out survivors, bemoaning the lack of heavy machinery or official help to save those trapped alive.
Members of a family move under the rubble of building amidst a rescue operation, after earthquakes hit the country, in La Guaira, Venezuela, June 25, 2026
A view of damaged buildings at Catia La Mar after a magnitude 7.2 earthquake struck Venezuela
French officers of the 7e Regiment d’Instruction et d’Intervention de la Securite Civile (7e RIISC – The 7th Civil Security Training and Response Regiment) prepare their shipment before flying to Venezuela to provide help
People go through donated clothes at a temporary refugee camp after earthquakes hit the country, in La Guaira, Venezuela, June 26
Search and rescue operations continue at the sites of collapsed buildings in Macuto, La Guaira
‘I am looking for my little Gael… he was only five months old,’ said an anguished Marjosly Salazar, 40, whose 16-year-old daughter died in the quake. The baby and Salazar’s cousin are both missing.
‘Please, we need support here. We need machinery to start lifting the columns,’ she said.
‘We haven’t seen any government officials here, none at all.’
Government forces distributed food and water to survivors in La Guaira as acting President Rodríguez said her government was mounting a full response during these ‘critical hours for rescuing people alive.’
She welcomed the arrival of rescuers and humanitarian aid from all over the world.
She said La Guaira – categorised as the disaster zone – had been militarised and that more help was on the way, even as residents said it was just a fraction of the aid they needed.
The disaster poses a huge challenge for Rodríguez, the former vice president who took office in January after the capture and removal of then-President Nicolás Maduro by the United States.
Venezuela has been facing economic disarray for more than a decade, and many people reject the legitimacy of the political movement Rodríguez represents.
earch and rescue operations continue at the sites of collapsed buildings in Macuto, La Guaira
Firefighters and volunteers work amidst the rubble of a collapsed building after earthquakes hit the country, in La Guaira
A member of the El Salvador rescue team hold a dog as the search for survivors continues following an earthquake, in La Guaira
People stand near a collapsed building following an earthquake, in La Guaira, Venezuela, June 26, 2026
Family members react as firefighters and volunteers work to get their loved ones out from the rubble of a collapsed building
A youth rescued from the debris is taken away on a motorcycle two days after earthquakes struck La Guaira
People search for victims amid debris of demolished buildings
The number of dead was expected to climb, and civilians reported tens of thousands of people missing on independent digital databases.
The number of missing likely includes those who have been incommunicado due to the lack of cellphone signals in disaster zones.
Some reports may be duplicates created when multiple loved ones are searching for the same person.
Rodríguez said she spoke to US President Donald Trump and Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Friday afternoon, and that they reaffirmed their commitment to sending rescue teams and aid equipment.
Footage emerging on social media has shown the desperate attempts of civilians and rescue teams to pull people out of the rubble.
One video showed a woman being pulled alive from the debris of a collapsed building in La Guaira.
Graciela Mora is shown covered in dust as she is carried out of the rubble on a stretcher, as rescue workers and volunteers cheer.
Other injured people have been pulled out, also covered in dust and blood, among them children.
A separate video showed the chilling cries of a one-month-old baby who was found alive in the rubble of a collapsed building.
Venezuelan state TV showed dramatic images of rescues, including a woman who was trapped under a cement slab with only a bare foot poking out before rescuers slid her out alive.
