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Death toll rises in Venezuela
Twin earthquakes in Venezuela have killed at least 1,450 people, according to National Assembly President Jorge Rodríguez, with 3,150 others injured and at least 12,721 people losing their homes.
“• Death toll climbs: At least 1,450 people have died since last week’s devastating earthquakes in Venezuela, according to the country’s top lawmaker, who said crews are in the “crucial hours to continue to save lives”
CNN reported it was on the ground in La Guaira and Caracas as teams dug through rubble on the fourth full day of frantic rescue efforts, with crews working through what the report described as the “crucial hours to continue to save lives.”
In La Guaira, CNN said rescue workers from Fairfax County, Virginia, listened for signs of life amid the rubble of a multi-story building as time ran out more than three days after the two earthquakes and hundreds of aftershocks.
Roya News put the death toll at 1,430 and said hopes dwindled more than three days after the disaster struck, as rescue crews with sniffer dogs raced to pull survivors from collapsed buildings.
Roya News also quoted a Salvadoran rescue worker saying, “At this point, they are probably dead bodies. Thanks to God maybe we can find people still alive.”
Aid, anger, and rescue moments
As international teams searched, CNN said officials were hoping a surge of foreign aid and rescue teams would bolster exhausted emergency workers and help address humanitarian needs for survivors.
CNN described glimmers of hope including the rescue of two 11-year-old boys and an infant in separate operations, while it also reported Venezuelans were voicing frustration over the government’s lack of heavy machinery.
Roya News reported that in Caracas’ San Berdardino neighborhood, volunteer rescuers used drills to break up concrete and formed lines to remove rubble by hand, while in Chacao large electronic screens showed faces of missing people.
Roya News also quoted Hector Aguilera searching for four family members buried in the rubble, saying, “We don't have the support to get our family out -- we can't do it alone.”
Khmer Times reported that Delcy Rodríguez said an 11-year-old boy was rescued from the rubble in Caraballeda, and it added her post on X: “Every life is a source of hope for Venezuela.”
International response and what’s at risk
The United Nations said more than 2,000 rescue workers from 27 countries were deployed to locate people trapped under rubble, and that at the request of the Venezuelan Government, 44 international USAR teams had deployed 2,245 specialists and 140 search dogs.
“American search-and-rescue teams pulled an infant alive from beneath the rubble in Venezuela days after the country's devastating earthquakes, the U”
UN News reported that as of 27 June authorities confirmed at least 1,430 people died and another 3,238 were injured, and it said a preliminary assessment estimated direct physical damage at $6.7 billion.
UN News also said the earthquakes were of magnitudes 7.2 and 7.5 and shook northern Venezuela and were felt in Caracas and in the states of La Guaira, Carabobo, Miranda, Yaracuy and Aragua.
Folha de S.Paulo said rescue teams on the front lines described the chance of finding survivors as fading, quoting the Venezuelan Andy, who heads logistics for the Mexican group Topos Aztecas: “by Saturday it was already clear that we would only find bodies.”
Folha de S.Paulo added that the group recovered eight bodies in three days at the historic Petúnia building, and it said it was estimated that at least six more were there, while the UN estimated there were more than 6.7 million affected across Venezuela.
