Rescue Efforts Intensify in Venezuela as Earthquake Death Toll Reaches 188

Rescue teams in Venezuela continued working overnight, between Thursday and Friday, to free hundreds of people trapped after two powerful earthquakes struck the country’s north in less than a minute. Officials said the next hours are critical, while an opposition-run tracking site listed more than 41,000 missing people whose fate is still unknown.

The hardest-hit areas are the capital, Caracas, and nearby La Guaira, which acting president Delcy Rodriguez declared a disaster zone. According to official figures relayed by lawmaker Jorge Rodriguez, the confirmed death toll has risen to 188. Authorities fear hundreds remain buried under about 250 collapsed or badly damaged buildings.

In La Guaira, rescue crews are working through dust and darkness with the help of residents and volunteers, many of whom are digging with their bare hands because of a severe shortage of heavy equipment. The shortage is tied to the country’s long-running economic crisis. One local resident, Yimilt Jimenez, said her 19-year-old son was trapped in the ruins of a seven-story building and added, “He is down there, under the concrete slabs, but we do not have the equipment to rescue him.”

The damage has also deepened shortages of food, medicine, electricity and water in affected towns such as Moron, where at least eight people were killed, including three children. UN aid agencies called for a “massive collective effort” to deal with the disaster, noting that about 8 million people in Venezuela already needed humanitarian assistance before the earthquakes. US President Donald Trump said the United States is “ready, willing and able to help,” and the State Department is preparing to send specialized aid teams.