Rescue teams drawn from several countries have intensified the search for survivors buried beneath collapsed buildings in Venezuela, after two powerful earthquakes left more than 900 people dead and thousands injured in one of the nation’s worst natural disasters in over a century.
Authorities put the confirmed death toll at 920, with more than 3,300 people hurt, following the twin quakes of magnitude 7.2 and 7.5 that struck barely a minute apart on Wednesday night. The second is thought to be the strongest to hit the country since 1900.
Emergency crews are working against the clock to reach those feared trapped before the crucial 72 hour window for finding survivors closes. The heaviest damage was recorded in the capital, Caracas, the coastal state of La Guaira and nearby communities, where hundreds of buildings were flattened. Many survivors have been forced to sleep outdoors after their homes were destroyed or declared unsafe.
In La Guaira, residents spoke of widespread devastation as rescuers, police and soldiers combed through wreckage, with heavy machinery reaching some of the worst-hit areas nearly two days after the disaster. Among those waiting was a mother whose two daughters were believed trapped in a shopping complex where they worked, and another resident pleading for help to free her young son.
Doctors warned that hospitals were overwhelmed and short of essential supplies, blaming years of underfunding for leaving the health system unprepared. The tragedy has revived criticism of the country’s emergency response, with residents urging officials to let more civilian volunteers join the effort.
International help has begun arriving, with rescue teams from Switzerland and Mexico joining local responders and the United States military taking part in humanitarian operations despite long-running tensions between Washington and Caracas. Several countries have sent heavy equipment, medical supplies and field hospitals, as authorities cautioned that the toll could climb further while many people remain unaccounted for.
