Zürcher Nachrichten - 'We need help': Venezuelans furious at slow official response to quakes

"The government isn't doing anything for the people," residents yelled from behind a cordon on Friday, many of whom had loved ones trapped under the debris.

"Get out! Get out!" they shouted at Rodriguez.

Three days after powerful tremors of magnitude 7.2 and 7.5 killed 1,430 people and left more than 50,000 missing, fury with perceived governmental inaction is mounting -- as is the feeling of helplessness.

People in Caracas and the hard-hit state of La Guaira further north have resorted to using their hands to dig through the detritus for survivors and victims, in the absence of official support.

In La Guaira, the search was on to rescue nine-year-old Dana, who had spent more than 18 hours trapped under the rubble.

Those digging for her listened to her cries for help alongside her mother's uncontrollable sobbing.

"Since last night we've been trying to get the little girl out and you can hear her voice there," 48-year-old neighbor Dani Rizo told AFP.

"She's dead," he said hours later, misery etched into his face.

- 'No way to help' -

Venezuelans are calling for faster deployment of rescue teams and heavy machinery to remove concrete blocks.

Generators, metal grinders and backhoes to clear debris are also desperately needed, affected residents say.

"There's a space where there's a young woman who answers me, and her name is Jennifer, from the 11th floor," Antonio Bermudez, 45, told AFP.

"However, we don't have tools. We have no way to help."

Two brothers are trapped just a few meters away from Jennifer, according to Bermudez.

"One of them answers and says he's wounded in the stomach," he said, recounting how their father and another brother were using a pickaxe and a sledgehammer to try to break them free.

Thousands have spent the past three days similarly toiling away, without government support.

Domingo Pacheco, a 52-year-old volunteer rescuer with more than three decades of experience, has stepped up to help.

"It's an extremely critical situation because there's a serious lack of help in terms of machinery and manpower," he told AFP.

- 'There are people alive' -

The quakes were the most powerful to hit Venezuela since a 7.7-magnitude tremor struck offshore in 1900.

Survivors and victims' loved ones are threatening to block streets to draw official attention to their plight.

One of them, Marlon Ochoa, is searching alone for his mother, wife and son, all of whom were buried when their home in Playa Grande in La Guaira collapsed.

This middle-class neighborhood's imposing residential buildings -- and even a five-star hotel -- crumpled during the tremors.

"I still don't see the authorities themselves taking charge of the situation here in this area," said Ochoa.

"We need things here -- machinery, generators, all kinds of stuff... we need help, there are people alive."

Jean Alexander Capote lost his mother-in-law in the disaster and cried with frustration as he searched for his stepdaughter among the ruins.

"We want help soon, as quickly as possible," he said, denouncing the slow pace of government support.

In a televised update, Rodriguez thanked the hundreds of international volunteers who were already on the ground in Venezuela.

"This is a painful situation for our country, but it is already showing what our people are like," she said, adding that "I want to embrace these families and tell them: you are not alone."

Rodriguez also announced a military deployment to La Guaira, although few soldiers were present on the streets as of Saturday, AFP journalists observed.

The government on Friday also restricted access to La Guaira, arguing that the massive influx of volunteers was hindering search and rescue efforts.

X.Blaser--NZN