CARACAS — Thousands of Venezuelans were feared dead on Thursday after two powerful earthquakes wreaked havoc in and around the capital Caracas, trapping people beneath the rubble of collapsed buildings and setting off powerful aftershocks.
A magnitude 7.2 earthquake hit about 160 km (100 miles) west of Caracas on Wednesday afternoon, followed less than a minute later by a magnitude 7.5 tremor, according to the U.S. Geological Survey.
Venezuela’s Interim President Delcy Rodriguez said at least 164 people were confirmed dead and 971 others injured. The latest figures mark a sharp increase from an earlier reported toll of 32 dead and 700 injured.
The initial toll did not include those from worst-affected La Guaira state, near Caracas and home to the city’s airport, where witnesses’ footage showed scenes of panic as ceilings came down.
Rodríguez said authorities were shifting rescue teams from other parts of the country to the hardest-hit La Guaira area, which sits north of the capital Caracas.
“Dozens of buildings have collapsed there … and we are currently carrying out intensive rescue operations to save lives,” she said.
Emergency workers scrambled over the debris of collapsed buildings in Caracas as night fell, while distraught relatives sought help for loved ones feared trapped. Dazed survivors were taken away, some on stretchers.
“When we went downstairs, the scene was like a horror movie,” said Maria Alejandra, a resident from a nearby building, who did not give her surname.
“We had to climb over the rubble and everything. The building superintendent with the baby and all the neighbors coming down. But from that building, I only saw that one family got out.”
The US Geological Survey, using predictive modeling to estimate the death toll, said it would most likely run into the thousands, with a substantial probability of exceeding 10,000.
A website set up to track missing people and posted on X by leaders from the country’s opposition, many of whom are outside the country, listed more than 10,000 people as unaccounted for at 5.40 a.m. local time (0940 GMT).
Many Venezuelans were at home when the quakes struck during a public holiday.
“There was a very loud crash. Things fell in the house, jugs inside the refrigerator. I’ve never experienced anything like it,” said Coro Martinez, 56, who lives in eastern Caracas.
Aftershocks rattled Caracas into the early hours of Thursday.
Rodriguez said the country was focused on rescue efforts, including the arrival in the coming hours of rescue crews from other countries, as she thanked leaders including US President Donald Trump.
Trump said in a social media post that the US was ready, willing and able to help in the disaster.
Leaders from countries including El Salvador, the Dominican Republic, Brazil and Spain offered support and sympathy. The US State Department said it was in touch with Venezuelan authorities and mobilizing assistance.
Wilmer Azuaje, a former Venezuelan lawmaker, captured the moment the quake hit Maiquetia Airport, sending masonry and clouds of dust falling.
“Everyone, the situation we’re experiencing here is serious. A high-magnitude earthquake. Look at how everything ended up,” he said while videoing the scene.
Rodriguez said the airport had been closed, complicating the rescue effort.
The UN’s Venezuela human rights mission urged the government to lift local restrictions on social media, saying it was a “matter of life and death”. In some areas, access had already become available as authorities struggled to cope in a country weighed down by years of economic mismanagement.
Venezuela lies in a seismically active zone where the Caribbean Plate meets the South American Plate.
An estimated 30,000 people were killed when a quake caused widespread destruction in Merida and Caracas in 1812, according to the USGS.
Source: Saudi Gazette