The death toll from the twin earthquakes that struck Venezuela this week has climbed to 920, with more than 50,000 people still unaccounted for as rescue teams race against time to find survivors beneath the rubble.
The powerful tremors, measuring 7.2 and 7.5 in magnitude, struck within a minute of each other on Wednesday evening, causing widespread devastation across northern Venezuela. Entire residential blocks collapsed, particularly in the coastal state of La Guaira, the area worst affected by the disaster.
As rescue efforts intensified on Friday, frustration among residents continued to grow. Interim President Delcy Rodríguez faced angry crowds during a visit to one of the hardest-hit communities in Caracas, where residents accused authorities of responding too slowly to the catastrophe.
According to United Nations humanitarian chief Tom Fletcher, more than 50,000 people remain missing, raising fears that the death toll could increase significantly in the coming days.
In La Guaira, rescue workers from several countries joined local emergency teams in searching through mountains of debris.
However, some international teams admitted that hopes of finding more survivors in certain areas were fading.
At one large residential complex reduced almost entirely to rubble, Chilean rescue official Nadiomar Polanco said the destruction was so severe that efforts had shifted largely from rescue operations to recovering bodies.
Across affected communities, relatives, neighbours and volunteers continued digging through collapsed structures, often with little more than their hands and basic tools.
One resident, Marjosly Salazar, said she was still searching for her five-month-old son, Gael, and a cousin who remain missing.
“Please, we need support here. We need heavy equipment to lift these concrete slabs,” she pleaded, adding that no government officials had visited her area since the disaster.
Public frustration has been fuelled by what many see as a slow and inadequate emergency response.
During Rodríguez’s visit to a damaged neighbourhood in Caracas, residents shouted criticism from behind police barriers, accusing the government of abandoning victims.
Authorities later announced that access to the disaster zone would be restricted overnight to support rescue operations and improve coordination among emergency teams.
Officials described the situation as one of the most complex emergencies Venezuela has faced in decades, with aftershocks continuing to threaten rescue workers and survivors.
As the scale of the disaster became clearer, countries around the world stepped up support.
Search-and-rescue teams from Spain, Chile, Switzerland, Colombia, Mexico and El Salvador are already operating in affected areas, while the United Nations says teams from at least 17 countries are being mobilised.
Rodríguez disclosed that she had spoken with US President Donald Trump and Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who pledged additional rescue personnel, specialist equipment, temporary shelters and humanitarian aid.
The United States has already deployed more than 250 emergency response personnel, including specialised urban search-and-rescue teams and trained search dogs.
The UN and several humanitarian organisations warned that the earthquakes have compounded an already fragile situation in Venezuela, where years of economic hardship had weakened healthcare systems and public services long before the disaster struck.
Among those confirmed dead are foreign nationals from several countries, including
- 28 Portuguese citizens
- Chinese nationals
- Two Brazilians
- One Chilean
- One Italian-Venezuelan
Authorities also reported that dozens of Portuguese and Spanish citizens remain missing.
The earthquakes are the strongest to hit Venezuela in more than a century and are already being compared with some of the world’s deadliest seismic disasters in recent decades.
With rescue teams still searching through collapsed buildings and thousands of families awaiting news of missing loved ones, officials warn that the humanitarian crisis is far from over.
