Teams scramble to locate survivors four days after Venezuela earthquakes

LA GUAIRA, Venezuela (AP) — Local and international rescue teams raced against the clock to pull survivors from the rubble in Venezuela on Sunday, four days after two powerful earthquakes shook the northern state of La Guaira.

The government reported 1,450 dead from the quakes Sunday afternoon as it faced growing criticism from Venezuelans that its response was inadequate and was overshadowed by civilian-led efforts to rescue people buried under collapsed buildings. Thousands have been reported missing, according to multiple databases being used by families searching for loved ones.

Even as the likelihood of finding people alive diminished with each passing hour, rescuers continued to free survivors from mountains of debris, offering anguished families reason to keep hopes alive. Aid agencies consider the first 48 to 72 hours after a natural disaster as crucial for retrieving people alive, though that can be extended if they have access to food and water.

Rescue workers from the U.S. and France pulled a man and his son from the ruins Sunday morning and carried them carefully on a black tarp into an ambulance. Masses of people gathered to watch the rescue as the survivors — covered in dust — were hydrated through an IV.

More than 2,200 rescue workers from across the world had arrived by Saturday, the U.N. said, and more were still arriving.

“It’s been incredibly hard work, but we’re going strong,” said Jason Mercano, a civilian who was able to communicate with family buried under the rubble via social media.

“We've never given up hope,” he added.

Rodríguez said on state television Saturday that more than 14,000 members of the military and police are patrolling the La Guaira state, where access is now blocked and special permits are required to enter.

Many in disaster zones said they had seen little of their government. But rescue efforts in La Guaira appeared more organized on Sunday than in the previous days.

The disaster poses a huge challenge for Rodríguez, the former vice president who took office in January after the U.S. capture and removal of then-President Nicolás Maduro. Venezuela has been facing economic disarray for more than a decade, and many people reject the legitimacy of the political movement Rodríguez represents.

Venezuela’s government said Sunday more than 770 buildings had totally or partially collapsed from the earthquake, twice as many as were reported destroyed or damaged on Friday.

Some people climbed the remnants of buildings and cried out names, hoping for any proof of life. Dust coated coastal communities. In punishing heat, more people wore masks as the stench of decomposition spread. In other parts of La Guaira, teams loaded stacks of bodies – some in white bags, other naked – onto white trucks from the ground of a dirt hospital parking lot, where they were being identified.

Without hard hats or other gear, rescuers and civilians instead wore motorcycle helmets as they searched piles of debris.

Some, frustrated by the government's response, blocked an excavator from leaving the site of a collapse and pulled the operator from its cabin shortly after state workers took selfies in front of flattened buildings and left without helping. The ruling party’s officials often take selfies to show participation in government-related events.

The International Organization for Migration said over 6 million people could be affected, some 2 million in the capital, Caracas, alone.

Experts said the destruction was amplified by the quick succession of shallow quakes. For days, smaller aftershocks occasionally shook the capital, Caracas and areas hit by the quakes, including one measuring 4.8 on Saturday.

Search teams and foreign aid continued to arrive from Mexico, the U.S., Brazil, El Salvador, France and elsewhere.

For many, the images of international aid teams arriving and climbing through the rubble alongside them offered a glimmer of hope.

Yonahí Regalado has been calling out the names of her sister and 1-year-old nephew and godson since 1 a.m. the day after the earthquakes until aid workers began to arrive.

“It doesn’t matter who it is, whoever, whether it’s family or somebody else. If there is anyone alive, let’s get them out,” she said, as helicopters circled overhead.

Small moments of humanity mixed with grief and terror.

One video showed a Venezuelan rescuer comforting an elderly woman trapped beneath the rubble, scared that the structure would cave in if she moved.

“The roof won’t cave in. If it falls, I’ll be here with you,” he said.

Simón Bolívar International Airport, which serves Caracas, was badly damaged. One runway was operational as U.S. teams worked to repair the crucial throughway, Jeremy Lewin, a senior State Department official in charge of foreign assistance, told reporters.

Janetsky reported from Mexico City. Associated Press journalists Matías Delacroix in La Guaira, Venezuela, Clara Preve in Buenos Aires, Argentina, and Ali Swenson in Washington, contributed to this report.

Rescue workers carry a man rescued from the rubble of a building that collapsed in the earthquakes that struck La Guaira, Venezuela, Sunday, June 28, 2026. (AP Photo/Matias Delacroix)

A U.S. aircraft flies over an area struck by earthquakes in La Guaira, Venezuela, Sunday, June 28, 2026. (AP Photo/Pedro Mattey)

EDS NOTE: GRAPHIC CONTENT - Bodies remain trapped under the rubble of a collapsed building three days after an earthquake struck La Guaira, Venezuela, Saturday, June 27, 2026. (AP Photo/Matias Delacroix)

Damaged buildings are seen three days after earthquakes struck in La Guaira, Venezuela, Saturday, June 27, 2026. (AP Photo/Matias Delacroix)

U.S. firefighters from the Fairfax County search and rescue team pull a boy from the rubble after rescuing him and his father from a building that collapsed in the earthquakes in La Guaira, Venezuela, Sunday, June 28, 2026. (AP Photo/Matias Delacroix)

Relief workers carry a man rescued from a building that collapsed in the earthquakes that struck La Guaira, Venezuela, Sunday, June 28, 2026. (AP Photo/Matias Delacroix)

Rescue workers carry a mans rescued from the rubble of a building that collapsed in the earthquakes that struck La Guaira, Venezuela, Sunday, June 28, 2026. (AP Photo/Matias Delacroix)

South Korea left the World Cup in turmoil after the team's quick elimination drew heavy criticism from the country's president, who called coach Hong Myung-bo “incapable,” while South Korea media reported the coach had already quit.

South Korea won its opening match against Czech Republic, then lost its next two Group A matches to South Africa and Mexico.

South Korea hoped it would qualify for the next round as one of the third-place teams to advance in this year's expanded tournament. That ended when Congo defeated Uzbekistan 3-1 on Saturday.

The quick exit for a team that expected to advance prompted harsh criticism from President Lee Jae Myung, who called for a complete review of the national team program.

“As a former honorary professional football club chairman and, at heart, a member of the Red Devils, I feel not just surprise but deep bewilderment at this unexpected result," the president said in a lengthy statement critical of national team structure and oversight and coach Myung-bo's appointment in the first place.

“Once again, it has been proven that personnel decisions determine everything. If loyalty and factionalism are valued over competence and an incapable person is appointed as a leader, the outcome is as predictable as fire,” the president said.

Hong, 57, was in his second stint with the national team. He was the coach at the 2014 World Cup in Brazil when South Korea also failed to advance past the group stage.

South Korea is a regular at the World Cup with 11 consecutive appearances, and was a semifinalist when it was co-host of the tournament in 2002.

President Myung called for the national Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism to review the national team and its failures.

"I sincerely apologize to the public for the deep disappointment caused by this absurd situation. We will move swiftly to reform sports administration to ensure this does not happen again,” Myung said.

See more of AP’s World Cup coverage here

Soccer fans react as they watch a live broadcasting of the World Cup Group A soccer match between South Africa and South Korea at a public viewing venue in Seoul, South Korea, Thursday, June 25, 2026. (AP Photo/Lee Jin-man)

South Korea's Lee Kang-in (19) reacts at the end of the World Cup Group A soccer match between South Africa and South Korea in Guadalupe, near Monterrey, Mexico, Wednesday, June 24, 2026. (AP Photo/Moises Castillo)

South Korea head coach Hong Myung-bo looks on ahead the World Cup Group A soccer match between South Africa and South Korea in Guadalupe, near Monterrey, Mexico, Wednesday, June 24, 2026. (AP Photo/Moises Castillo)