Desperation mounts as quake death toll rises to 1,430 in Venezuela

The death toll of Venezuela's earthquakes rose to 1,430 on Saturday, officials said. The latest figures were released as rescuers continued the search for survivors of the one-two punch of 7.2 and 7.5 magnitude earthquakes that devastated the South American nation three days earlier.

Families had reported at least 68,900 people missing as of Saturday morning.

Venezuelans looking for loved ones and neighbours used shovels, heavy equipment, ropes and bare hands atop mounds of toppled concrete throughout La Guaira, one of Venezuela's hardest-hit states.

Most of those digging were civilians who took search efforts into their own hands, and tensions spiked over an inadequate response from the Venezuelan government, whose soldiers, firefighters, police and military cadets were evidently underprepared to respond to the tragedy.

Aid agencies consider the first 48 to 72 hours as crucial for retrieving people alive, though that can be extended if they have access to food and water.

Most of those digging were civilians who took search efforts into their own hands, citing the lack of state presence. However, a growing number of international rescue teams were joining the effort to save lives nearly 72 hours after the quake.

Oscar Perez hugs his family after reuniting with them three days after an earthquake struck in La Guaira, Venezuela. AP

The toll of Wednesday's quakes stood at at least 920 dead and more than 51,000 missing on Friday.

People reported seeing few state rescue teams in the hardest-hit areas despite authorities projecting an image of a robust government response.

In Catia La Mar, Ezequiel Frontado peered down at dozen bodies lying on the street Saturday morning, covered with blankets that neighbors and rescuers had recovered from the rubble of nearby collapsed buildings.

Women pack supplies as Venezuelans living in Spain collect medicines and food after deadly earthquakes hit Venezuela, in Madrid. Reuters

He was searching to see if any were his missing relatives. Acting President Delcy Rodríguez said on state television Saturday that more than 14,000 members of the military and police are patrolling the area, where access is now blocked and special permits are required to enter. More rescue teams sent by governments across the world arrived in Venezuela on Saturday.

United Nations aid chief Tom Fletcher told AFP that more than 50,000 people were missing after two powerful earthquakes struck within a minute of each other on Wednesday evening, flattening buildings in the north of the country.

The coastal area of La Guaira, near the capital Caracas, was the worst hit, with one building after another crumpled by the magnitude 7.2 and 7.5 quakes.

Rescue teams operate heavy machinery at the site of a collapsed building in Caracas, following earthquakes. AFP

Access to the disaster zone was restricted from 8:00 pm on Friday (0000 GMT Saturday), Interior Minister Diosdado Cabello announced in a televised address.

A rescue team from Chile arrived at one residential complex in La Guaira made up of four tall buildings housing hundreds of apartments that had largely been reduced to rubble.

"Unfortunately, the collapse is total, and there is little chance of finding survivors. Efforts are now focused on recovering the bodies of the deceased," team leader Nadiomar Polanco said at the site, which resembles many others in the city.

Elsewhere, family members, neighbours and volunteers used their bare hands to try to dig out survivors, bemoaning the lack of heavy machinery or official help to save those trapped alive.

"I am looking for my little Gael... he was only five months old," said an anguished Marjosly Salazar, 40, whose 16-year-old daughter died in the quake. The baby and Salazar's cousin are both missing.

"Please, we need support here. We need machinery to start lifting the columns," she said. "We haven't seen any government officials here, none at all."

Colombian rescue workers search through the rubble three days after an earthquake struck in La Guaira, Venezuela, early on Saturday. AP

In an upscale Caracas neighborhood, Rodriguez was greeted with angry chants from a crowd of people whose loved ones were trapped under the debris.

"The government isn't doing anything for the people," they yelled from behind cordons next to a pulverized building.

'Very complex'

AFP saw workers using sledgehammers to break through detritus, calling for "absolute silence" to detect cries from survivors.

"It's a very, very complex emergency response," the UN's Fletcher told AFP, warning the death toll could rise significantly.

Aftershocks and destroyed buildings still posed significant dangers.
Venezuela's worst earthquake in more than a century has come after the oil-rich country endured more than a decade of economic collapse.

The crisis has hollowed out hospitals and public services, driving millions to leave the country.

French officers of the 7e Regiment d'Instruction et d'Intervention de la Securite Civile (7e RIISC - The 7th Civil Security Training and Response Regiment) board their plane before flying to Venezuela to provide help after two earthquakes hit the country, at the Marseille Provence Airport in Marignane, southern France, on Friday. Reuters

The country is still in a fragile transition six months after the United States ousted leader Nicolas Maduro.

Help arrives

The UN humanitarian agency OCHA said search and rescue teams from at least 17 countries were being mobilized to help find survivors.
Spanish, Salvadoran, Swiss, Colombian, and Mexican rescue teams were already on the ground.

Rodriguez said Friday she had received a call from US President Donald Trump and Secretary of State Marco Rubio who "reaffirmed their commitment to supporting the response efforts by sending rescue workers, specialist equipment, support for temporary shelters and humanitarian aid for the affected families."

The United States said earlier it was sending a disaster response team of more than 250 personnel, including three special search-and-rescue units with dogs trained to locate people trapped beneath the rubble.

A senior US military official landed in Caracas to oversee Washington's relief efforts.
"Even before the earthquakes, millions of people across Venezuela were facing food insecurity, collapsing health services, protection risks, and limited access to basic services," the UN and other aid agencies said in a statement Friday.

People search for survivors in the rubble of a collapsed building following an earthquake, in La Guaira, Venezuela, on Friday. Reuters

"The international community must not allow this emergency to deepen into a larger human tragedy."

Earthquakes of similar magnitude claimed more than 200,000 lives in Haiti in January 2010 and 73,000 lives in Kashmir in October 2005.

Foreigners killed

Those killed included 28 Portuguese nationals, five Spaniards, two Brazilians, seven Chinese nationals, one Chilean and one Italian-Venezuelan.

People stand near a collapsed building following an earthquake, in La Guaira, Venezuela, on Friday. Reuters

85 Portuguese nationals and 119 Spaniards were missing or otherwise unaccounted for, according to their respective governments.

The quakes were the most powerful to hit Venezuela since a 7.7-magnitude tremor struck offshore in 1900.

Venezuela's northern coast sits on a boundary between the Caribbean and South American tectonic plates, but had not experienced a major quake since 1997.
Minutes of silence preceded Friday's World Cup 2026 matches to honor the victims of the tragedy.

Agencies