CARACAS, June 28 (Xinhua) -- "I am deeply saddened by the disaster in Venezuela, but I take some comfort in knowing that I can use the skills my Chinese mentors taught me to help my compatriots," said Pitney Delgado on Friday, his eyes red after more than 50 hours of continuous work.
Two powerful earthquakes above magnitude 7 struck Venezuela on Wednesday evening. Venezuelan officials said Friday that the death toll had risen to 1,430.
Delgado, who works at a Chinese restaurant in Caracas, recalled that when the first quake hit, the kitchen stoves were still burning as the ground suddenly began to shake violently.
"My first reaction was to get everyone to open space. I left without taking anything. I just shouted: 'Go, go quickly!'" he said.
He urged colleagues to evacuate and only returned to retrieve essential belongings after ensuring everyone had reached safety during a brief pause in the shaking. "My instinct was not to save my own things, but to get them out first," he said.
Delgado said years of working with Chinese colleagues had left him with a lasting impression of their "warm hearts," strengthening his willingness to help others in times of crisis.
That commitment was reinforced by a practical skill: more than a decade ago, while working at a Chinese company, he learned to operate heavy machinery under Chinese mentors.
"They are my compatriots. How could I stand by and do nothing?" he said, tears streaming down his face.
He first met Jiang Wangbing, now president of the China-Venezuela Chamber of Commerce, in 2015, when he began learning crane operation.
"It was a huge machine weighing dozens of tons," Delgado said. "At first I was nervous. One mistake could damage property or hurt someone."
With patient and standardized instruction, he said he mastered basic crane operations within a week. "The training was very focused. They wanted you to learn everything," he said.
After the earthquakes, the China-Venezuela Chamber of Commerce quickly mobilized cranes and heavy machinery for rescue operations at collapsed buildings. Delgado joined without hesitation.
He said he could not stop working after seeing on social media people digging through rubble with their bare hands. "Without machines, how could we clear the debris?" he said. "It would be impossible."
Equipment remained scarce and had to be rotated among multiple sites. By the time of the interview, more than 50 hours had passed since the earthquakes, and Delgado had not rested, having already worked at three collapsed sites.
With his help, seven people were rescued. Two were confirmed alive after treatment, while five did not survive.
"It is a pity we could not save the other five," he said, covering his face as he cried.
Asked about working under dangerous conditions, he said: "There were aftershocks and unstable structures. Of course, I was afraid. But when I thought people might still be trapped, I could not stop."
"As long as I am needed here, as long as there are still people to rescue, I will keep working," he said.
After a brief interview, Delgado returned to the collapsed site. The engine roared again as the crane arm slowly lifted.
Jiang said the chamber had deployed two cranes and one demolition machine for round-the-clock rescue operations. Under the coordination of the Chinese Embassy in Venezuela, it was also gathering supplies from Chinese-funded enterprises, with lighting equipment and excavators to be added.
Following the earthquakes, several Chinese-funded companies in Venezuela launched relief efforts and coordinated with the embassy and local associations to provide machinery, medical supplies, and rescue teams. ■
