A week after Venezuela's quakes, one missed call is keeping hope alive

At least 2,295 people have died from two quakes that hit northern Venezuela on 24 June. Frustrations are rising as emergency support and resources are slow to reach communities most impacted. Standing amongst the rubble and ruins in La Guaira, a young boy has a missed call from his mother. A week after the devastating twin earthquakes that rocked northern Venezuela, he's still searching for her — believing the call is a sign of life. "She's alive, I prayed to God last night that she give me a signal and she gave it to me this morning," he told SBS News. Despite the sign, the search is almost impossible. "We don't have anyone to help, we don't have machinery to help get her out," he said. He's one of hundreds desperately searching through collapsed buildings for their loved ones. Frustrations are high, as the Venezuelan government hasn't provided specialised support or search responses. "There's life here, while we wait, we could be saving them," a woman screamed. Another yelled: "We want machinery, we want help to rescue our people." The young man has been searching for his mother in the rubble, believing that she is still alive. Much of the recovery and rescue efforts have been volunteer-led, with police and paramedics on stand-by for anyone pulled from the wreckage. The Venezuelan government deployed 25,000 emergency and law enforcement personnel to the affected regions, focusing on search and rescue, the supply of basic needs, and the establishment of temporary camps. However, locals say those resources aren't reaching communities fast enough. More than 2,200 international search-and-rescue specialists from 27 countries are on the ground in Venezuela. A Jordanian search and rescue team saved a toddler from the debris in the capital Caracas, after six days of being trapped. The Australian government has been in contact with seven Australians in Venezuela, and is providing "consular assistance" according to Foreign Minister Penny Wong. Wong's department has also pledged $2 million in humanitarian assistance to communities affected by the earthquakes. The two quakes hit minutes after 6pm on 24 June. The most powerful to hit Venezuela in over a century, the quakes measured 7.2 and 7.5 in magnitude and hit La Guaira, Caracas, and states on the northern coast, including Carabobo, Falcón, and Miranda, the hardest. On Wednesday, Venezuela's National Assembly president Jorge Rodriguez said that at least 2,295 people had died, and another 11,267 were injured. Almost 50,000 people remain unaccounted for, and thousands have been displaced. NASA estimates that 58,870 buildings were damaged or destroyed in La Guiara. In the city, a woman's father and 15-year-old daughter were pulled dead from the wreckage of a 14-level building. "This isn't easy. The biggest thing we have is our children as a mother," she told SBS News. This woman's father and daughter were pulled dead from the rubble. She has another daughter trapped, who she hopes is still alive. Her other daughter remains under the rubble. Her boyfriend, Maxcleiber Núñez, is not giving up hope. "I have hope that she's alive, I have hope," he said. Her brother, Rafael Rada, is not as optimistic. He believes his sister has died under the debris and hopes to find her body to lay her to rest. "What I'm asking for is machinery, help, as much for me as for others; what we need is the bodies of our loved ones," he said. The death toll continues to rise, as the temporary morgue at the city's port is filled with coffins. Families remain walking between and searching the debris, clinging to the hope their loved ones are still alive.