CARACAS — Venezuela's official earthquake death toll has risen to 1,450 as rescue crews continued searching collapsed buildings on Sunday, racing to find more survivors days after twin powerful earthquakes devastated the country's northern coast, authorities said.
National Assembly President Jorge Rodríguez said the confirmed death toll had increased from 1,430 reported a day earlier. He said more than 3,150 people had been injured, 12,721 displaced or otherwise affected, and 774 buildings had collapsed. Search-and-rescue operations remained underway with more than 25,000 emergency personnel, military members, police officers, civil protection teams and Red Cross workers deployed across the disaster zone.
The worst damage has been concentrated in La Guaira state, where rescue teams from Venezuela and more than two dozen countries continued searching through mountains of concrete and debris. Authorities said 2,624 international rescue workers, supported by rescue dogs and specialized equipment, had joined the operation.
Interim President Delcy Rodríguez said rescue operations would continue after additional survivors were pulled from the rubble, adding that authorities were assessing the structural safety of damaged buildings. She also said electricity had been restored to much of La Guaira and schools in the affected area would remain closed for another week.
The twin earthquakes, measured by the U.S. Geological Survey at magnitudes 7.2 and 7.5, struck northern Venezuela on June 24, causing widespread destruction in La Guaira and other nearby areas. Officials said casualty figures could continue to change as search teams reach additional damaged sites and verify reports from affected communities.
