Relatives of Venezuelans deported by the US are desperately searching for answers after a hotel holding more than 100 deportees collapsed during deadly earthquakes that struck Venezuela on the same day.

Deportation and Disaster

A deportation flight from Miami to Venezuela’s Simón Bolívar International Airport carrying 146 people, including 19 women and 7 children, landed at 10:22 a.m. local time. The deportees were taken to Hotel Santuario in La Guaira, a coastal city north of the capital, Caracas. Hours later, two once-in-a-century earthquakes struck Venezuela, causing widespread damage across La Guaira, killing at least 1,700 people, with many more still missing.

Some of the deportees survived the hotel’s collapse, but many remain trapped in the rubble. Luis Armando Dasilva said he and his family have been anxiously waiting for five days for news about his sister, Amanda Donizete, who was deported Wednesday and has not been heard from since.

Rescue Efforts and Relief

Rescuers have been combing through the rubble of the hotel in a desperate attempt to save any survivors. The US has sent search and rescue teams to Venezuela and committed more than $300 million to relief efforts so far.

In October, the Supreme Court allowed the Trump administration to end Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for 300,000 Venezuelan migrants, who were permitted entry under a humanitarian relief program. Since then, the US has been deporting hundreds of people per week to Venezuela.

Original reporting: KRDO (Colorado Springs metro) — read the source article.