Angry citizens accuse the Venezuelan government of negligence

“The smell here is horrible. But I’m still trying because I want my uncle. We can’t just stand still when there’s a chance that there are people living in the ruins,” said William Rodriguez. “Help came too late in most places, and in some it still hasn’t.”

While police were near the campus, they did not participate or assist in rescue efforts.

Juan Avendo, who lives across the street from Belo Horizonte – whose house was also destroyed, said: “We heard the screams and cries of the people trapped under the rubble. So we tried to help them ourselves, using our bare hands to dig through the rubble with our nails.”

He and his nephew Iyer Mujasah revealed how they brought a woman out alive.

“We heard her screaming in the night. But it was dark and we couldn’t do anything. So the next morning we went to look for her. We were able to give her a bottle of water first. Then we worked to get her out,” he says.

Almost two days after the earthquake, the first official rescue team – Venezuelan firefighters – arrived on Friday. Teams from El Salvador and America also helped. A few more survivors were found and the operation was called off on Sunday.

Juan estimates that hundreds may have died under the rubble.

Their bodies may never be found, and we may never know the true extent of this disaster.

Additional reporting by Akriti Thapar, Maria Ines Calderon and Sanjay Ganguly.