Daijiworld Media Network - Caracas
Caracas, Jun 26: The death toll from the two powerful earthquakes that struck Venezuela has risen to 589, while 2,980 people have been injured, as rescue teams continue searching for survivors trapped beneath collapsed buildings, acting President Delcy Rodríguez said on Friday.
Addressing the media alongside senior government and military officials, Rodríguez said saving those still buried under debris remains the administration's highest priority.
"We are going to rescue the people who are trapped. We are working tirelessly on this task," she said, according to the Associated Press.
The worst devastation has been reported from the coastal state of La Guaira, which bore the brunt of the 7.2- and 7.5-magnitude earthquakes that struck on Wednesday evening. Authorities have placed the region under military control to facilitate rescue operations and ensure the uninterrupted distribution of food, drinking water and emergency aid.
Officials cautioned that the death toll is likely to rise further as thousands of people remain unaccounted for and search teams continue combing through the rubble.
The International Organization for Migration (IOM) estimates that as many as 6.76 million people across Venezuela may have been affected by the disaster, including nearly 2 million residents of the capital, Caracas.
Loyce Pace, the International Red Cross' Regional Director for the Americas, said many survivors remain too frightened to return to their homes due to the continuing risk of aftershocks.
Emergency responders have rescued numerous survivors, including children, from collapsed structures, many of them covered in dust and suffering serious injuries.
Across Caracas and other affected areas, residents awoke to scenes of widespread destruction, with apartment blocks reduced to skeletal remains, roads cracked by the powerful tremors and helicopters flying overhead as rescue operations gathered pace.
Families searched desperately for missing relatives by displaying photographs and handwritten lists of names in public places, while many Venezuelans living abroad struggled to contact loved ones because of disruptions to telephone and communication services.
Fearing additional aftershocks, hundreds of residents spent the night in parks, parking lots and other open spaces instead of returning to damaged buildings.
The international community has begun mounting a large-scale humanitarian response to assist Venezuela's recovery efforts.
India on Friday launched Operation Amistad, dispatching two Indian Air Force C-17 transport aircraft carrying a field hospital unit along with more than 35 tonnes of relief material. Announcing the mission on social media, External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar said the emergency assistance was being sent to support Venezuela's post-earthquake relief operations.
The United States has announced $150 million in humanitarian assistance, including support for United Nations agencies and relief organisations. Washington has also deployed disaster response teams, urban search-and-rescue specialists, transport aircraft, helicopters and two naval vessels to aid rescue operations. In addition, the US Treasury has temporarily eased sanctions on Venezuela until October 23 to facilitate humanitarian assistance.
Several other countries, including Mexico, Colombia, Spain, France, Italy, Ecuador, Panama and El Salvador, have either dispatched or pledged rescue teams, medical personnel, sniffer dogs, aircraft and emergency equipment as the global relief effort continues to expand.