Venezuela earthquake death toll tops 1,700 as rescue hopes persist

Rescuers kept digging through collapsed buildings in La Guaira and the Caracas capital region as the death toll from Venezuela’s twin earthquakes climbed to 1,719. Families were still searching for relatives, and crews were racing a narrowing window for survival. Teams on the ground kept finding people alive.

Two powerful quakes struck on Wednesday, June 24, measuring 7.2 and 7.5 and arriving about 39 seconds apart. The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs' first situation update counted more than 20 aftershocks, 32 dead and more than 700 injured, a preliminary toll that rose sharply as more neighborhoods were reached and more missing people were counted.

La Guaira, the coastal state north of Caracas, took the worst of the damage. Apartment blocks and homes collapsed in Caraballeda, Macuto, Naiguatá and Catia la Mar, and the main airport in the affected area was closed after extensive damage. Emergency services were overwhelmed in the first hours, and the destruction spread into Caracas, where the quakes also brought down buildings and left rubble-strewn streets across the capital region.

Rescue work drew local crews as well as teams from France and the United States, including the Fairfax County search and rescue team. Three children were pulled alive from a collapsed building in La Guaira, and on Sunday, June 28, a father and his son were rescued alive after nearly 96 hours trapped beneath the rubble.

The dead were at least 188 on June 27, then around 235, then 920, then 1,430. Injuries have also mounted, with more than 3,238 people hurt and earlier official figures near 4,300.