Virginia Rescue Team Pulls Father, Son, Mother, and Baby to Safety After Venezuela Quake

June 30, 2026

Against all odds, a Virginia search and rescue team helped deliver two remarkable moments of hope in earthquake devastated Venezuela, pulling four survivors alive from collapsed buildings days after many feared no one could still be found.

Credit: Associated Press

Virginia Task Force 1, an elite urban search and rescue team from Fairfax County, joined emergency crews from Venezuela and France in the hard fought effort along the country's northern coast after two powerful earthquakes measuring 7.2 and 7.5 struck the region.

One of the most emotional rescues came in La Guaira state, where crews had spent days searching through a towering pile of concrete with little reason to believe anyone had survived.

Then everything changed.

Rescuers spotted movement beneath the rubble and carefully began working together to reach the survivors. After four days trapped underground, a father was finally pulled to safety. Covered in dust and exhausted, he was carried from the wreckage while still clutching his cellphone as medics immediately began treating him.

Moments later, rescuers brought out his young son.

When the rescue was complete, applause erupted from rescuers and nearby residents who had gathered to witness the incredible scene.

Associated Press journalist Juan Pablo Arraez, who watched the rescue unfold, said hope had been fading after several days of searching.

"At this stage many begin to lose hope. You see that in their faces," he said. "When somebody makes it out alive, this father and son. It's more than a glimpse, it's real hope for people."

The successful rescue was not the team's only miracle.

Over the same weekend, Virginia Task Force 1 also rescued a mother and her 9 month old baby from another collapsed building. According to team spokesman John Morrison, the pair had been trapped deep beneath the debris but somehow escaped serious physical injuries.

"It was a very emotional experience, and it's great when all of the residents around you and the Venezuelans are clapping along because they're happy that these rescues are occurring," Morrison said.

Virginia Task Force 1 deployed to Venezuela with 80 first responders and more than 70,000 pounds of specialized rescue and medical equipment.

In the middle of overwhelming destruction, those four rescues became powerful reminders that even when hope seems to be running out, miracles can still be waiting beneath the rubble.