Venezuela Earthquake News Live Updates: Rescue workers and desperate residents raced against time across northern Venezuela on Thursday to find survivors trapped beneath collapsed buildings after two powerful earthquakes killed at least 235 people and left more than 1,500 injured.
The twin earthquakes, measuring magnitudes 7.2 and 7.5, struck within less than a minute of each other on Wednesday night, causing widespread devastation across northern Venezuela. According to the United States Geological Survey (USGS), the quakes triggered extensive structural damage, with buildings cracking, collapsing and leaning dangerously across affected areas.
Health Minister Carlos Alvarado said the death toll had risen to at least 235, up from an earlier figure of 188, as rescue operations continued amid persistent aftershocks.
Emergency workers struggled to reach survivors trapped under the debris, hampered by a shortage of trained personnel and heavy rescue equipment. In many areas, local residents attempted rescue operations with little more than their bare hands.
In one of the hardest-hit cities in La Guaira state, residents listened helplessly as a young girl cried for help from beneath the rubble for hours before she succumbed to her injuries.
“We need people, military personnel, to come and help so we can get her out,” resident Dani Rizo, 48, told AFP before local residents later confirmed the girl’s death.
Elsewhere in La Guaira, voices could still be heard from beneath a collapsed building.
“They’re still alive. There’s nothing more we can do. We don’t have any tools. We have no way to help,” resident Antonio Bermudez said.
Medical facilities were overwhelmed as casualties continued to arrive. A doctor at Caracas’ Domingo Luciani Hospital said children were being brought in alone after being rescued from collapsed structures.
“Some children provide their names, while others arrive with identification tape on their arms,” the doctor, speaking anonymously, told AFP.
A rescue worker described conditions on the ground as extremely challenging, citing shortages of specialised personnel and severe technical limitations.
Interim President Delcy Rodriguez visited La Guaira after authorities declared the coastal state a disaster zone. The International Rescue Committee (IRC) described the humanitarian situation as catastrophic.
Source link
[ad_3]
