Caracas, Jun 28: The death toll from the twin earthquakes that struck Venezuela on Wednesday has risen to 1,430 as rescue teams continued searching for survivors amid widespread devastation across the South American nation.
Authorities said families have reported at least 68,900 people missing, while rescuers and residents used shovels, heavy machinery, ropes and even their bare hands to search through collapsed buildings in La Guaira, one of the worst-affected states.
The back-to-back earthquakes, measuring 7.2 and 7.5 on the Richter scale, caused extensive destruction, with La Guaira suffering severe damage and later being declared a disaster zone.
Meanwhile, the Venezuelan Foundation for Seismological Research reported another earthquake of magnitude 4.1 in the country’s central region.
According to the state seismological agency, the latest tremor struck about 35 kilometres west of La Guaira, a major port city on Venezuela’s central coast. The quake occurred at a shallow depth of five kilometres, a factor that typically results in stronger ground shaking and raises the risk of further structural damage in already affected areas.
Rescue and relief operations remained underway as authorities continued efforts to locate survivors and assess the full extent of the disaster. (Agencies)
