Venezuelan fashion workshop swaps gowns for body bags after deadly earthquakes

MARACAY, Venezuela — A fashion designer in Venezuela has transformed his clothing workshop into a production site for body bags to support rescue and recovery efforts following the devastating earthquakes that struck the country on June 24.

Instead of creating his signature colorful garments, designer Efrain Mogollon and his team are now sewing black plastic body bags for victims of the twin earthquakes, which killed more than 3,500 people and overwhelmed emergency response services.

Mogollon said the work has been emotionally difficult but meaningful, as his team contributes to relief efforts in communities devastated by the disaster.

"It is a completely different feeling," Mogollon said as he delivered body bags to an ambulance in Catia la Mar, one of the hardest-hit areas in La Guaira state.

He said helping victims through their work has given the team a sense of purpose during the tragedy.

The June 24 earthquakes, measuring magnitudes 7.2 and 7.5, caused widespread destruction across parts of Venezuela, leaving thousands dead, injured, or displaced.

Civilians have played a major role in rescue and recovery operations alongside international rescue teams, firefighters, military personnel, and volunteers. Residents also provided food, clothing, and other essential supplies in the days immediately following the disaster.

Humanitarian organizations have said relief efforts continue to fall short of the immense needs created by the earthquakes.

Inside Mogollon's workshop, sewing machines that once produced fashionable dresses now operate continuously to manufacture body bags. Rolls of black polyethylene have replaced colorful fabrics, while dress mannequins have been set aside.

Seamstress Mary Castillo, who has been making body bags for the past two weeks, said the work has been heartbreaking but necessary.

"It is very sad. But we have to keep working and make the effort to move forward," she said. 

-Reporting by Javier Andres Rojas; Writing by Daina Beth Solomon; Editing by Alistair Bell/Reuters