Key facts
- 3-year-old child rescued alive from collapsed building in Venezuela
- Rescue came six days after the earthquakes struck
- Survival after six days is exceptionally rare in earthquake rescues
Rescue teams in Venezuela pulled a three-year-old child alive from the rubble of a collapsed building six days after devastating earthquakes struck the country, in one of the most dramatic survival stories to emerge from the disaster. The toddler's rescue came long after the window in which survivors are typically found, making the outcome extraordinary.
The earthquakes caused significant structural damage across affected regions of Venezuela, with multiple buildings collapsing and casualties reported in the immediate aftermath. Search and rescue operations have continued around the clock, but the chances of finding survivors diminish sharply with each passing day, making the three-year-old's rescue after nearly a week all the more remarkable.
The child's condition following the rescue was not immediately detailed, but the survival after six days without confirmed access to food, water or medical care underscores the extraordinary physical resilience that has been documented in previous earthquake rescues around the world.
The disaster has added to Venezuela's existing humanitarian and economic strains, with the country's emergency response capacity under pressure. International attention has focused on the rescue operation, with the three-year-old's survival offering a rare moment of hope amid the broader toll of the disaster.