Desperate Venezuelan families raced against time on Thursday to locate and pull loved ones alive from the debris of collapsed buildings following two catastrophic earthquakes that claimed hundreds of lives.
The disaster unfolded rapidly on Wednesday night when a pair of powerful earthquakes—measuring 7.2 and 7.5 magnitude—struck northern Venezuela within minutes of each other, instantly causing multi-story structures to crack, crumble, and tilt dangerously.
As violent aftershocks continued to rock the region on Thursday, Health Minister Carlos Alvarado confirmed that the death toll had climbed to at least 235 people, with an additional 4,300 citizens suffering injuries.
With rescue operations slowly moving forward, time rapidly ran out for the critically injured and trapped victims whose bodies remained visible behind tangled wreckage hours after the initial tremors.
In a city in the worst-hit state of La Guaira, north of Caracas, residents listened helplessly as a young girl cried out for help for hours.
“We need people…, military personnel, to come and help so we can get her out,” said resident Dani Rizo, 48.
Global rescue teams on way
Exposing the structural failures behind the delays, a rescue worker speaking off the record told AFP that critical technical issues and a severe shortage of skilled personnel had rendered the entire operation unstable.
As the humanitarian crisis deepened, Nicole Kast, the International Rescue Committee’s head for Venezuela, officially condemned the situation as “catastrophic.”
In response to the escalating ruin, authorities designated La Guaira as a formal “disaster zone,” prompting a visit from interim president Delcy Rodriguez on Thursday.
Meanwhile, the United States said it was deploying two warships, transport planes and helicopters as well as mobilizing $150 million in aid.
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Backstory
Tragedy struck in Venezuela as powerful twin earthquakes kills 32 people and injured over 700 others.
Speaking after the massive shocks collapsed entire buildings and sent people running in panic, the Venezuelan interim president, Rodriguez confirmed the death toll.
The United States Geological Survey (USGS) reported that two powerful earthquakes, measuring 7.2 and 7.5 in magnitude, struck the same region of Venezuela on Wednesday, collapsing buildings in the capital and shutting down the country’s main airport.
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