Cat rescued from Venezuela earthquake rubble as death toll tops 5,200

A weakened cat was pulled from under the rubble of a collapsed residential complex in Venezuela on Saturday in what one rescuer described as a “ray of hope” in the aftermath of deadly earthquakes.

More than 5,200 people were killed when back-to-back quakes struck the South American nation on June 24, with the coastal state of La Guaira hit hardest.

Volunteer rescue worker Andres Carvajal said he spotted the cat during a search in a La Guaira housing complex that had been reduced to rubble.

“We saw the cat, it got scared and went back inside, deeper into the building,” Carvajal told AFP. It was unclear when it had become trapped.

“I went in, took off my glove, put some cat food on my arm… It gradually came closer and, of course, ate with a bit of desperation,” the 21-year-old university student said.

Carvajal had written “el gato” — “the cat” — on his helmet, which he said had been his nickname since elementary school.

He and other students from the Central University of Venezuela, in Caracas, formed an association to help with rescue operations.

Once rescued, the cat was handed over to a small camp where vets were on standby. It was given fluids and cleaned before being sent to a shelter.

“I’m very happy we found it,” Carvajal said. “It’s impossible not to feel empathy for any life that’s here. And finding this little cat is obviously a ray of light, a ray of hope.”

At the end of June, a rescue team pulled a small dog from the rubble in the same area. Footage captured a search and rescue team from El Salvador pulling the dog from a crumbled building in Caraballeda. In the footage, the sound of barking can be heard coming from a dark crevice. The video then shows the canine enthusiastically licking the face of her rescuer after being taken out of the collapsed structure as a crowd applauded.

Outside what used to be a McDonald’s restaurant in La Guaira, volunteer veterinarians set up a makeshift animal clinic for dogs, cats and other pets injured or left ownerless by the back-to-back earthquakes. With few tools but an admirable drive to save animals, they described their work as “war medicine.”

Venezuela earthquake death toll tops 5,200

The death toll from the earthquakes has risen to 5,208, according to an updated official tally on Sunday. The number of injured remains at 16,740, according to the president of the Venezuelan legislature, Jorge Rodriguez.

In La Guaira, the recovery of bodies continues from the rubble of dozens of collapsed buildings. Venezuelan authorities have not provided an estimate for the number of people still missing.

In La Guaira, nearly 20,000 homeless people are crammed into makeshift camps set up in stadiums, public squares, and on sidewalks.

More than 850 buildings were damaged and 190 collapsed completely, according to official figures.