but families of the missing continue their desperate search. Over 3,500 deaths have been confirmed, but the true scale remains uncertain. Raul Alvarado's family - his mother, father, and older brother - remain trapped inside the collapsed OPP 26 building in Caraballeda, one of the hardest-hit areas. The 12-storey apartment block has been crushed into a pile of concrete slabs at ground level. Alvarado survived because he was in a different room when the quakes struck. He last saw his family hugging. The UN estimates as many as 50,000 people could be missing across nearly 200 destroyed buildings, mostly in the coastal La Guaira area. Volunteers and firefighters dig small tunnels through concrete floors, recovering bodies one by one. Online registries list over 30,000 unaccounted-for names. Professor Katsu Goda explains that the unusual double earthquake likely caused progressive or "pancake" collapses, where reinforced concrete buildings compressed into dense rubble layers, making rescue extremely dangerous. The first quake weakened structures; the second caused further collapses before occupants could escape. For families like Daniela Alvarez's - searching for her sister, nieces, and brother-in-law - the prospect of demolition without recovery is devastating. "Our families will come out in pieces", she said. Meanwhile, authorities have not provided official estimates of the missing, and time is rapidly running out for those still waiting atop the debris. (Bssnews)