Hundreds still missing as Venezuela earthquake death toll surges to 920

International

HOPE and anguish grow as rescuers dig through Venezuela’s earthquake ruins, where at least 920 people have been killed and thousands more injured.

Government officials said 3,360 people have been injured since Wednesday, when two powerful earthquakes struck within seconds of each other. The second tremor, measuring magnitude 7.5, was among the strongest recorded in the country in a century.

Authorities warned the death toll could still rise, with at least 172 people believed to be trapped beneath rubble. Emergency operations remain concentrated in the worst-affected regions.

La Guaira, north of Caracas, has suffered the most severe destruction. The area includes Simón Bolívar International Airport and one of Venezuela’s main ports.

National Assembly head Jorge Rodríguez said 920 deaths had been confirmed and that 243 people had been rescued alive in La Guaira alone.

Acting President Delcy Rodríguez said dozens of people had been pulled from the debris and reported 214 aftershocks since the initial quakes.

Across northern Venezuela, hundreds of buildings have been destroyed or severely damaged, including hospitals, shopping centres and more than 1,000 infrastructure sites.

The scale of destruction has overwhelmed emergency services, forcing many injured people into temporary treatment centres after hospitals were rendered unusable.

The disaster has placed major strain on the healthcare system, with hospitals already weakened by shortages of supplies and medicine now struggling to cope with mass casualties.

Medical staff say the crisis has exposed longstanding weaknesses in Venezuela’s healthcare network.

“All our hospitals lack supplies, lack medicines, we are not able to provide medical attention to our people on a normal day,” doctor Pedro Javier Fernandez told the BBC.

In the early stages of the response, damaged roads, disrupted communications and limited resources slowed rescue efforts, with reports of survivors being pulled from debris by hand.

International assistance has since arrived, with hundreds of foreign rescue personnel now deployed and additional teams expected. Countries including the United Kingdom, United States, Mexico, the Netherlands and Switzerland have sent support, while Washington has also announced $150m in aid and deployed transport aircraft and naval vessels.

In La Guaira, heavy machinery is now assisting clearance operations as international rescuers describe extensive devastation. Humanitarian officials say years of underinvestment and deteriorating infrastructure have worsened the impact of the disaster.

The United Nations has pledged to coordinate international relief efforts, with its humanitarian chief saying the crisis requires a coordinated global response and confirming that assistance is being mobilised.

For many families, the wait for news continues. Amid the devastation, some rescues have offered brief relief, including the recovery of children from collapsed structures in La Guaira.

Tributes have also emerged for victims, including the wife of Venezuelan footballer Héctor Bello, who died while saving her daughter during the earthquakes.

Foreign governments have confirmed casualties among their citizens, including nationals from Portugal, Brazil and Spain, with others still unaccounted for.(MyTVCebu)