Venezuela quake kills at least 235 as rescuers race to reach trapped survivors

Residents in northern Venezuela searched desperately on Thursday and Friday for relatives trapped under collapsed buildings after two strong earthquakes struck before dawn, killing at least 235 people and sending aftershocks into neighboring countries. The hardest-hit area was La Guaira, north of Caracas, where people dug through rubble, shouted names of loved ones, and tried to free the injured as tremors continued.

According to the U.S. Geological Survey, the first quake, measuring 7.2, hit at 6:04 p.m. local time about 200 kilometers from Caracas. Thirty-nine seconds later, a second quake of magnitude 7.5 struck about 45 kilometers away, followed by roughly 30 aftershocks. It was the strongest earthquake to hit Venezuela in more than a century, since a magnitude 7.7 quake off Caracas on October 29, 1900, which caused major damage.

Health Minister Carlos Alvarado told state television on Thursday that the death toll had risen, saying, “Unfortunately, we have received about 235 people who arrived without signs of life or who died immediately upon arrival at our health facilities.” Rescue work was moving slowly, with bodies still trapped under rubble hours later and time running out for some of the injured and trapped.

In one badly affected town in La Guaira, residents could hear people calling for help from beneath the debris. Danny Rizo, 48, said, “We need people. We need soldiers to come and help us so we can get them out. I heard the voices of people under the rubble of a collapsed building.” Antonio Bermudez said a young woman named Jennifer was answering him from the 11th floor of a collapsed building, but “we have no tools or means to help her.” He added that three people were still alive inside and rescuers were telling them to speak less and breathe slowly.

Doctors and paramedics at Domingo Luciani hospital said children and adults were arriving by ambulance without their families after being pulled from the rubble, while local facilities in La Guaira were under severe strain. Switzerland, Spain, France, Portugal and Mexico sent experts and rescue teams, while China, India, Brazil and Iran offered support. U.S. Southern Command said the United States would send two warships, transport aircraft and helicopters to provide logistical assistance and support search and rescue efforts.