More than 900 people have been confirmed dead and 3,360 others injured after two powerful earthquakes struck Venezuela, devastating communities across the country’s northern region and triggering a massive international rescue operation.
Emergency teams continue to search through collapsed buildings for survivors as families anxiously await news of missing loved ones.
The injured are receiving treatment in temporary medical facilities after dozens of structures, including residential and commercial buildings in the capital, Caracas, were destroyed by the quakes.
Government officials said hundreds of international rescue workers have already arrived in Venezuela, while additional teams are expected in the coming days to support ongoing recovery efforts.
The twin earthquakes struck within seconds of each other on Wednesday, with the second registering a magnitude of 7.5, making it one of the most powerful earthquakes to hit Venezuela in more than a century.
Authorities identified La Guaira, north of Caracas, as the worst-affected region. The state hosts one of Venezuela’s major ports as well as Simón Bolívar International Airport, the country’s main gateway.
Officials fear the death toll could rise further as many people remain missing beneath the rubble.
Among those desperately waiting for news is Natacha Diaz, whose two daughters, aged 22 and 23, were trapped when a shopping centre collapsed in La Guaira, where they worked as manicurists.
“They were with their friends,” she said. “I just want them to be found. I have faith and hope that they are there.”
“I just want them back with me. They are all I have, please.”
National Assembly head Jorge Rodríguez announced during a state television broadcast on Friday that the death toll had climbed to 920, while at least 172 people were still believed to be trapped.
He added that rescue teams had pulled at least 243 people alive from the debris in La Guaira alone.
Acting President Delcy Rodríguez described the successful rescues as a source of hope for the nation.
Dozens of people have been rescued alive, which “brings us joy that they can embrace their families and loved ones”, she said during a televised briefing on Friday.
She also revealed that authorities had recorded 214 aftershocks since the initial earthquakes.
Hundreds of buildings have either collapsed or suffered severe damage, including hospitals and shopping centres. Jorge Rodríguez said at least 1,000 additional infrastructure sites had also been affected.
Medical workers say surviving hospitals are struggling to cope with the surge in casualties.
“All our hospitals lack supplies, lack medicines, we are not able to provide medical attention to our people in a normal day,” doctor Pedro Javier Fernandez said.
“Now with this tragedy, the emergency is even bigger and it’s more difficult to face than in other countries,” he added.
Reports from affected areas indicate that rescuers initially used their bare hands to dig through debris as damaged roads, communication disruptions and limited resources hampered emergency response efforts.
International assistance has continued to grow. A UK military aircraft carrying search-and-rescue specialists, dogs and drones departed RAF Brize Norton on Friday en route to Venezuela.
The mission includes personnel from 14 UK fire services led by Merseyside Fire and Rescue.
The United States, the Netherlands, Mexico and Switzerland have also dispatched rescue teams. Washington further announced the deployment of warships, transport aircraft and $150 million in aid.
Heavy machinery has begun arriving in the hardest-hit areas to support large-scale debris removal operations.
Jan Egeland, secretary general of the Norwegian Refugee Council, said international teams on the ground had witnessed “horrific damage”.
He argued that Venezuela entered the disaster in a vulnerable position due to years of infrastructure decline.
Venezuela was ill-prepared and vulnerable in an emergency situation because of its already “crumbling infrastructure” following decades of underinvestment, Jan Egeland told the BBC.
The earthquake has struck a country already weakened by more than a decade of economic hardship and declining living standards.
UN humanitarian chief Tom Fletcher stressed the need for a coordinated international response.
Earlier, he said the disaster “needs an international global response and we’ll co-ordinate that and we will deliver”.
“I want people to know in Venezuela that help is coming,” he said.
One of the most uplifting rescue stories emerged from La Guaira, where three young siblings were pulled alive from the rubble. Television footage showed the children covered in dust as they emerged one by one from the collapsed structure.
“Come here, my child, come here,” a man says to the first child as he emerges alive from a gap between chunks of concrete.
A girl then comes out, as the man asks her: “Are you siblings?”, to which she replies: “Yes, there are three of us.”
Shortly afterwards, with a little more difficulty, the third sister emerges, sobbing and covered in dust from head to toe.
Tributes have also poured in for victims of the disaster. The wife of Venezuelan footballer Héctor Bello died while protecting their daughter during the earthquake, according to local media and the player’s social media posts.
Bello wrote on Instagram that “his precious love”, identified by Venezuelan media as Andrea, saved the life of their toddler.
“I’ll tell her the story of how you saved her, my love – how you gave your own life for our daughter, how you were a brave woman who never abandoned her, even as you took your last breaths,” Bello wrote in one post.
Foreign governments have confirmed casualties among their citizens, including one Portuguese national and two Brazilians.
Spanish media, citing the country’s foreign ministry, reported that four Spanish nationals had died while 106 remained unaccounted for.
Interior Minister Diosdado Cabello said several states were affected by the earthquakes. In Caracas, Los Palos Grandes and Altamira were among the hardest-hit neighbourhoods.
Authorities said most aftershocks have been concentrated along Venezuela’s northern coastline, affecting areas including La Guaira, Aragua, Carabobo and Falcón.
Venezuelan opposition leader Leopoldo López, speaking from exile in Spain, described the destruction as extensive and said residents remained in “shock”.
He said that “unfortunately, we are seeing a parallel collapse of the infrastructure, and also the incapacity of the state to provide timely rescue support for the people in the devastated areas”.
However, there has been “tremendous support by the civil society in Venezuela”, he added.
The disaster comes during a period of significant political uncertainty in Venezuela.
Less than six months ago, former President Nicolás Maduro was detained by US forces in Caracas and transferred to New York to face drug-trafficking charges.
His ally and former vice-president, Delcy Rodríguez, assumed control of the government, disappointing opposition supporters who had hoped opposition leader María Corina Machado would take power.
