The three-year-old has been saved from the rubble after six days with his rescue serving as ‘a moment of hope’ for the tens of thousands that remain unaccounted for
A three-year-old boy has been pulled alive from the rubble six days after the horrific earthquake in Venezuela in a ‘moment of hope’.
A Jordanian rescue team burst into cheers as the youngster was saved from the ruins. He has been named by the country’s interim president as Klieber Morán.
Delcy Rodríguez described the child’s rescue as a moment of hope.
The rescue comes as the UN have warned that tens of thousands have been left in urgent need of food and shelter.
The Jordanian civil defence said Klieber was given first aid treatment, taken to a hospital and his vital signs were good.
He was being treated in the capital Caracas, Venezuelan Assembly President Jorge Rodríguez said, the BBC reports.
The death toll from the devastating tragedy has climbed to 1,943 with more than 10,000 people injured.
The quakes, with magnitudes of 7.2 and 7.5, have also left tens of thousands more unaccounted for.
Rodríguez said Klieber’s rescue highlighted there is still hope of continuing to find people alive. He added that domestic and international teams were still searching through rubble to locate those missing.
According to an initial assessment of satellite data from NASA the shakes also damaged or destroyed approximately 58,870 buildings.
Experts warned after the destruction that the three-day period following the quake was the best chance at finding people alive.
Many locals in La Guaira, one of the hardest hit areas, have been carrying out their own rescue missions to find loved ones.
The UN’s refugee agency said on Tuesday that food shortages were widespread, basic services had broken down and communications had been largely severed in La Guaira.
“Community tensions are rising as access to assistance remains constrained,” the UNHCR said in a statement on its website.
The World Health Organization (WHO) added that health services are under “extreme pressure.”
“There’s an increased risk now of outbreaks of vaccine-preventable diseases” such as measles and diphtheria due to low vaccination coverage, WHO spokesman Christian Lindmeier said.
Four days after the quake struck a father and his son were also pulled alive from the rubble of a collapsed building.
The pair were rescued on Sunday following a 12 hour operation by search teams in the coastal state of La Guaira.
According to Venezuelan authorities, more than 2,600 rescue workers from around the world are now taking part in the search effort, supported by nearly 140 specially trained search dogs.
International aid is arriving in the country to support it at this time of need.
A UN spokesperson said a 47-tonne shipment of humanitarian supplies arrived on Tuesday.
Inside was emergency health kits, supplies for safe births, newborn care and disease prevention.
There remains a risk of further damage as aftershocks continue to shake Venezuela, with smaller scale quakes with 4.2 and 4.5 magnitudes recorded on Sunday morning.
