Shocking footage captured in La Guaira, Venezuela, shows Graciela Mora—affectionately known as ‘Chelita’—being pulled alive from the rubble of a collapsed apartment building following two powerful earthquakes. Lying on a stretcher moments after her rescue by emergency responders and volunteers, the 8th-floor resident recounted how she survived: ‘When the earthquake hit, I held on to the door frame as tightly as I could—so tightly that I broke my finger.’
A Miraculous Survival Amid Widespread Devastation
Mora said she clung to the door frame ‘until all the floors collapsed.’ She added, ‘I haven’t even had time to cry yet.’ The video of her extraction underscores both the scale of destruction caused by the twin quakes—and the desperate, round-the-clock efforts of search-and-rescue teams combing through mountains of debris.
Mounting Human Toll
So far, at least 235 people have died, more than 4,300 have been injured, and around 50,000 remain unaccounted for. Venezuelan authorities warn the death toll is likely to rise sharply as crews continue sifting through the ruins of dozens of buildings.
Thousands of residents are now homeless—or refuse to return home, fearing further collapses due to severe structural damage. Hospitals across La Guaira state are overwhelmed: a local doctor told the BBC that the region’s two main hospitals are ‘flooded with trauma patients’ and facing critical shortages of medical supplies, severely hampering patient care.