Two weeks after a series of powerful earthquakes struck Venezuela, the official death toll has risen to approximately 3,811, but thousands remain unaccounted for, leaving families in a state of agonizing uncertainty.

Adolfo Guerra traveled over 400 km from Portuguesa state to camp outside the rubble of his daughter Alexandra's apartment in Los Corales. The 23-year-old physiotherapist is still missing, but Guerra refuses to lose hope: "We have faith she is alive."

Crowdsourcing websites have registered about 40,000 missing person reports, though experts caution that duplicates and false reports may inflate the number. Many families have taken matters into their own hands, searching through debris themselves.

Rescue operations are hampered by a lack of heavy machinery and fuel. Private companies donated cranes and cooling containers, but many sit idle. International rescue teams are departing as the likelihood of finding survivors diminishes after the critical 72-hour window.

The United Nations Development Programme estimates the earthquake generated 1.2 million tonnes of debris. Funeral home worker Santiago Rodriguez says bodies are too decomposed for fingerprinting, and many are buried unidentified. He fears a repeat of the 1999 mudslides that killed 30,000.

Police officer Noel Marquez, injured in a motorcycle crash, searches the collapsed OPP 27 housing complex on crutches. He found the ashes of his mother and grandfather but believes his pregnant sister and other relatives are still buried. "We don't even have tears anymore," he said, criticizing the government's response.

Volunteer rescuer Cesar Baez of the Salvation Army continues searching with thermal cameras and sound equipment, insisting on maintaining hope for families. "You cannot take away their hope," he said. "You have to believe that the impossible can happen."

Source: www.aljazeera.com