Venezuela earthquake rescue operation approaches 96-hour mark with thousands still missing

(28 Jun 2026) RESTRICTION SUMMARY: ASSOCUATED PRESS La Guaira, Venezuela - 28 June 2026 1. SOUNDBITE (English) Regina Garcia Cano, The Associated Press: "We are in the city of La Guaira, only a couple of hours short of the 96-hour mark since the state was struck by twin earthquakes on Wednesday that flattened dozens and dozens of buildings, not just in La Guaira, but many parts of Venezuela. What we're seeing behind me is rescuers from mostly other countries and dozens of Venezuelans working as fast as they can to find their loved ones. This continues to be mostly a citizen-led effort. We can see a few more soldiers from Venezuela that we saw in previous days, but again it's mostly neighbors, friends, relatives who are searching for their loved ones." ASSOCUATED PRESS La Guaira, Venezuela - 28 June 2026 2. Various of people looking at lists and pictures of missing 3. Various of Los Angeles Fire Department searching for signs of life 4. Dutch rescue team working at collapsed building ASSOCIATED PRESS La Guaira, Venezuela - 27 June 2026 5. Various of Jason Marcano working at collapsed building where his sister lived ASSOCIATED PRESS La Guaira, Venezuela - 28 June 2026 6. SOUNDBITE (Spanish) Jason Marcano, relative of earthquake victim: "When we started doing the digging, people from the state with thermal cameras told us there were no signs of life there. However, we never lost hope. We continued digging. Then Mexico's help arrived. They listened, said no one was left alive because no one responded. Then the United States team arrived, they placed the dogs and since the dogs didn't bark or anything, they said there were no people there. Even with all that, we never lost hope because we felt that there were relatives of ours alive. We continue digging. And yesterday, we had the opportunity to speak with them. We communicated with three people who are down there. They had 3 percent battery left. We don't know if there are additional people. However, the bodies haven't been found, so there's still hope that they're alive. Here we are, standing strong." 7. Man being rescued ASSOCIATED PRESS La Guaira, Venezuela - 28 June 2026 8. SOUNDBITE (English) Regina Garcia Cano, The Associated Press: "Despite the time that has passed since the earthquakes on Wednesday, they have still been able to find people alive. They, right behind me, rescued a father and a son and they're now receiving medical help. We have seen across La Guaira, again, it's just people helping each other. We have seen rescuers from many, many countries, among them the US, Mexico, France, and from what they have told us, many of them will continue to be here several more days as the search, rescue and recovery efforts continue." 9. Various of US marines 10. People walking alongside their turned off motorbikes to not disturb rescue missions 11. Man wearing a white shirt reading "looking for my son Andres Krauter" STORYLINE: 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 overshadowed by civilian-led efforts to rescue people buried under collapsed buildings. Thousands more have been reported missing. The Associated Press journalist Regina Cano visited the scene in La Guaira where a mix of rescue teams and civilians on Sunday continued to search through the rubble. Find out more about AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/HowWeWork Twitter:   / ap_archive   Facebook:   / aparchives   ​​ Instagram:   / apnews   You can license this story through AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/metadata/you...