La Guaira quake families race to identify dead as morgues overflow
Families in La Guaira are searching rubble and crowded morgues to identify relatives killed in the twin earthquakes. The mounting death toll and overwhelmed forensic system are raising fears of mass graves and prolonged recoveries.
Families in Venezuela's quake-hit coastal state of La Guaira are racing to identify and bury their loved ones as officials struggle to collect, identify and preserve the bodies of those killed in the back-to-back earthquakes of June 24. At least 2,295 people have died and thousands are still missing, with bodies continuing to be recovered from the rubble.
The scale of the disaster has left hospitals, morgues and funeral services overwhelmed. Bodies have been kept in open areas, including parking lots, while relatives wait in line outside a makeshift morgue at La Guaira seaport, fearing that unidentified victims could end up in mass graves.
Rosa Lopez said she had to step around rows of bodies lying under the harsh sun as she helped her daughter search for her missing husband, Jose Antonio Toledo. Even after years as a nurse, she said the sight of dozens of dead wrapped in sheets or blankets was overwhelming. "We saw a lot of bodies that had not yet been identified," Lopez said.
Toledo, 25, was found under the building where he had been working as a security guard when the quakes struck. His body was first taken to a local hospital, but the family was turned away because there was no space. It was then sent to another facility and eventually moved to an open parking lot. A forensic doctor helped the family find him on Saturday, days after the quake, but they then learnt they could not afford the USD 450 being charged by a funeral home.
Close to midnight on Saturday, Lopez was told that the mayor's office could give them a free burial space at a local cemetery if they acted quickly. An hour later, she and her daughter walked up the hill to the cemetery and buried Toledo. "He was an exemplary person, a boy who liked helping people," Lopez said. The family managed to save him from a mass grave, something many others now fear.
Forensic technician Joel Mirabal said the number of bodies recovered is expected to rise sharply. He has worked for seven straight days since the 7.2 and 7.5 magnitude earthquakes struck. The 45-year-old said that in about 60 per cent to 70 per cent of cases, a relative or neighbour is available to identify a body, often by tattoos, scars or clothes. "They don't look even 10 per cent like what they were in real life," he said. Bodies that cannot be identified are sent to forensic specialists at La Guaira seaport, where private companies have donated large cooling containers to help preserve them.
Mirabal said the pressure on the system is severe. "Obviously, mass graves will have to be created," he said. "The collapse is massive, and the bodies are buried under many layers of debris." He said he and other forensic technicians expect to spend up to three months recovering bodies. They travel every day through affected areas, guided by rescue crews and local residents. "Many of the rescues are carried out by the people," he said. A dog trainer by profession, Mirabal said he finds some comfort in the 12 dogs waiting for him at home, including Mila, a young black Dutch Shepherd. "It's not easy at all to witness the suffering and tragedy of your fellow human beings," he said.
Over the weekend, crews brought dozens of bodies recovered from flattened buildings to a government-run health facility in La Guaira, where they were left in a sweltering parking lot until relatives could identify them. Funeral home workers said more than 200 bodies were kept there at one point. On Thursday, families who had lost loved ones waited outside La Guaira seaport, where cars, trucks and funeral home vans lined up outside the makeshift morgue.
Among them was Robert Rodriguez, who waited for his daughter to identify the body of his son-in-law, Rafael Alvarado, who died trapped inside the grocery store where he worked at the deli counter. "He was her best friend," Rodriguez said, tears soaking his blue face mask. He said the family found Alvarado in the rubble on Wednesday and his body was taken to the port on Thursday. "I saw his shoes and knew it was him," Rodriguez said, adding that he warned his daughter: "I told her, 'Prepare yourself.'" The family plans to cremate Alvarado and scatter his ashes on Isla de Margarita, his home island. Across La Guaira, families are still searching through the wreckage and waiting outside morgues as the number of recovered bodies continues to grow.
With PTI Inputs
Families in Venezuela's quake-hit coastal state of La Guaira are racing to identify and bury their loved ones as officials struggle to collect, identify and preserve the bodies of those killed in the back-to-back earthquakes of June 24. At least 2,295 people have died and thousands are still missing, with bodies continuing to be recovered from the rubble.
The scale of the disaster has left hospitals, morgues and funeral services overwhelmed. Bodies have been kept in open areas, including parking lots, while relatives wait in line outside a makeshift morgue at La Guaira seaport, fearing that unidentified victims could end up in mass graves.
Rosa Lopez said she had to step around rows of bodies lying under the harsh sun as she helped her daughter search for her missing husband, Jose Antonio Toledo. Even after years as a nurse, she said the sight of dozens of dead wrapped in sheets or blankets was overwhelming. "We saw a lot of bodies that had not yet been identified," Lopez said.
Toledo, 25, was found under the building where he had been working as a security guard when the quakes struck. His body was first taken to a local hospital, but the family was turned away because there was no space. It was then sent to another facility and eventually moved to an open parking lot. A forensic doctor helped the family find him on Saturday, days after the quake, but they then learnt they could not afford the USD 450 being charged by a funeral home.
Close to midnight on Saturday, Lopez was told that the mayor's office could give them a free burial space at a local cemetery if they acted quickly. An hour later, she and her daughter walked up the hill to the cemetery and buried Toledo. "He was an exemplary person, a boy who liked helping people," Lopez said. The family managed to save him from a mass grave, something many others now fear.
Forensic technician Joel Mirabal said the number of bodies recovered is expected to rise sharply. He has worked for seven straight days since the 7.2 and 7.5 magnitude earthquakes struck. The 45-year-old said that in about 60 per cent to 70 per cent of cases, a relative or neighbour is available to identify a body, often by tattoos, scars or clothes. "They don't look even 10 per cent like what they were in real life," he said. Bodies that cannot be identified are sent to forensic specialists at La Guaira seaport, where private companies have donated large cooling containers to help preserve them.
Mirabal said the pressure on the system is severe. "Obviously, mass graves will have to be created," he said. "The collapse is massive, and the bodies are buried under many layers of debris." He said he and other forensic technicians expect to spend up to three months recovering bodies. They travel every day through affected areas, guided by rescue crews and local residents. "Many of the rescues are carried out by the people," he said. A dog trainer by profession, Mirabal said he finds some comfort in the 12 dogs waiting for him at home, including Mila, a young black Dutch Shepherd. "It's not easy at all to witness the suffering and tragedy of your fellow human beings," he said.
Over the weekend, crews brought dozens of bodies recovered from flattened buildings to a government-run health facility in La Guaira, where they were left in a sweltering parking lot until relatives could identify them. Funeral home workers said more than 200 bodies were kept there at one point. On Thursday, families who had lost loved ones waited outside La Guaira seaport, where cars, trucks and funeral home vans lined up outside the makeshift morgue.
Among them was Robert Rodriguez, who waited for his daughter to identify the body of his son-in-law, Rafael Alvarado, who died trapped inside the grocery store where he worked at the deli counter. "He was her best friend," Rodriguez said, tears soaking his blue face mask. He said the family found Alvarado in the rubble on Wednesday and his body was taken to the port on Thursday. "I saw his shoes and knew it was him," Rodriguez said, adding that he warned his daughter: "I told her, 'Prepare yourself.'" The family plans to cremate Alvarado and scatter his ashes on Isla de Margarita, his home island. Across La Guaira, families are still searching through the wreckage and waiting outside morgues as the number of recovered bodies continues to grow.
With PTI Inputs
