Venezuelans Worry They Won't Recover the Remains of Loved Ones Still Trapped Under Rubble After Earthquakes

Across La Guida's coastal communities, rubble and dust blanket most neighborhoods. Tens of thousands of buildings collapsed. After two back-to-back earthquakes hit Venezuela, more than 30,000 people have been reported missing, according to an independent citizen-run online registry. Among them, Pedro Veloz and Alejandrina de Veloz. They lived on the seventh floor of a building in one of the hardest-hit towns. They're super friendly. We always have been a super close family. Their grandchildren, Valeria Veloz, who lives in Spain, and Pedro Veloz, who lives in Orlando, Florida, say they're living a nightmare. Now, as international rescue crews have begun to leave Venezuela and some sites are even being demolished, they're worried they'll never be able to get their grandparents' remains We just want to find the bodies and just, you know, like, just get them and cremate them or, you know, bury them or, you know, like, as everybody should when they pass. International rescue workers told the Veloz family 10 large plates of concrete would have to be lifted to try to find them. We're still waiting for the, for the telescopic machinery to be able to remove the biggest concrete. Part of their agony for 12 days is trying to find a crane or heavy machinery to remove that debris. And they're not alone. NBC News has spoken to other families in La Guaida who were also in desperate need to find loved ones. Some told us operators have charged as much as $2,000. In other cases, there's no diesel to operate them. And many others have warned against crane operators who don't have the necessary experience. A crane used in the search for Gladys Rio and Carcensio Merota appeared to have done more harm than good, according to their son. As soon as the machine started to work, it destroyed the main columns and it left the structure weakened. Now it's so hard to get in. We don't want to put lives at risk. Veloz says the current government of Venezuela has failed to help the many victims of the quakes. They were pretty, pretty slow. And also, at least on the building that my grandparents are in, they didn't have nobody until like the fourth day. During a news conference last week, Telemundo's anchor, Julio Vaquero, questioned Interim President Del Ciro Rodriguez about the government's ongoing response. Rodriguez announced over the weekend funds released by the International Monetary Fund would be allocated to reconstruction efforts and immediate assistance for families, especially those who suffered the loss of loved ones and property. Veloz's grandparents, who had been married for 58 years, had eight grandchildren and one great-granddaughter, who just turned two. We thank you for watching and remember, stay updated on breaking news and top stories on the NBC News app or watch live on our YouTube channel.