The last survivor found was Hernan Gil, a roughly 40-year-old shopping centre security guard who spent almost eight days trapped under a collapsed building.
Sebastian Mocarquer, a Chilean firefighter with the UN Disaster Assessment and Coordination team (UNDAC), told EFE that most people were rescued in the first hours and days by local residents, while international teams – better equipped and trained – focused on reaching those buried deepest.
Foreign teams began preparing to leave once a week had passed since the quakes, Mocarquer said, though some that arrived later are staying on, mostly helping local crews recover bodies.
UNDAC says 77 rescue teams from 31 countries sent almost 3,000 responders and around 50 dogs to Venezuela; about 25 foreign teams remain.
The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) warned on Sunday that growing numbers of people are being displaced after losing their homes in La Guaira, the hardest-hit state, and are moving to less-affected areas.
OCHA spokeswoman Veronique Durroux confirmed search and rescue operations are winding down, adding that thousands of survivors now need assistance.
"The scale of the destruction is staggering. There is also the matter of managing the rubble, what to do with it," she said.
The latest official toll from the 24 June double earthquake stands at 3,342 dead, almost 16,500 injured and more than 17,300 homeless.
The Venezuelan government has set up 79 temporary camps for those who lost their homes.
Experts fear the final death toll could rise much further.
Two days after the earthquakes, the UN estimated more than 50,000 people were missing.
One unofficial website collecting reports of missing persons listed more than 18,000 names as of Sunday.
(ał)
Source: PAP, mercopress.com