Venezuela earthquake LIVE updates: Toll climbs to 920; India sends aid

The toll from the back-to-back earthquakes that devastated Venezuela this week climbed Friday to at least 920 dead and 3,360 injured, authorities said.

The new figures were announced by Jorge Rodriguez, the president of the country’s National Assembly.

The toll is likely to go higher as search-and-rescue operations continue. Many families say their loved ones are still buried under the rubble.

“Each person saved is a miracle,” Rodriguez said.

– AP

More than 50,000 people are missing after powerful twin earthquakes rocked Venezuela, the United Nations’ aid chief said on Friday (June 26), warning that the death toll was likely to “rise significantly”.

“It’s a very, very complex emergency response,” Tom Fletcher, the UN Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator, told AFP in an interview.

“We’ve got over 50,000 people missing, over 500 people dead, so a massive job to go through the rubble”.

His comments came after Venezuela’s interim president Delcy Rodriguez said the official death toll from the earthquakes more than doubled on Friday to 589, as rescuers raced to find survivors beneath collapsed buildings.

-AFP

The U.S. Government has lifted a number of economic sanctions against Venezuela for four months to facilitate relief operations following a pair of deadly earthquakes that jolted the country.

“All transactions related to earthquake relief efforts in Venezuela…are authorized” until October 23, according to a license issued on Thursday evening by the U.S. Treasury.

The 7.5- and 7.2-magnitude earthquakes on Wednesday killed at least 589 people, with the toll continuing to rise.

International aid has begun flowing into the country, home to nearly 30 million people whose economy has been in crisis for years.

Teams from Chile, Colombia, El Salvador, Italy, Mexico, Switzerland and the United States have already arrived, according to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs.

-AFP

An ‌outage in a ⁠key power transmission line in ‌Venezuela’s central region ‌is ‌this week ⁠slowing ⁠down efforts to have full service ‌restored at the key port of ‌Puerto Cabello, the El Palito ⁠refinery and the ‌Moron petrochemical complex after quakes, sources said ‌on Friday (June 26).

-Reuters

UN and other humanitarian agencies issued a joint call on Friday (June 26) for “solidarity” after deadly twin quakes rocked Venezuela, insisting that “the international community must not allow this emergency to deepen into a larger human tragedy”.

“The people of Venezuela need solidarity now,” the heads of the Inter-Agency Standing Committee (IASC) — a forum of United Nations and non-UN humanitarian organisations — said in a statement, urging “rapid and unimpeded humanitarian access” to those affected.

-AFP

In cities across northern Venezuela, neighbours helped each other dig through rubble to search for loved ones, after back-to-back earthquakes killed at least 589 people and left thousands injured.

Acting President Delcy Rodríguez announced the new toll early on Friday (June 26), surrounded by government and military officials as she welcomed the arrival of rescue crews from all over the world.

“We are going to rescue the people who are trapped,” she said. “We are working tirelessly on this task.” She said the state of La Guaira has been hardest hit by the 7.2 and 7.5 magnitude earthquakes that struck Wednesday evening, noting that it has been militarized as crews search for survivors and distribute food and water.

The number of casualties is expected to climb with thousands reported missing and frantic rescue efforts continuing.

-AP

Venezuela’s strongest earthquake in over a century is the biggest challenge to Delcy Rodriguez’s early leadership but could also allow the interim president to ‌stamp her authority on a fractured government and begin rebuilding a broken country.

Rescuing those trapped, treating the injured and rebuilding homes and infrastructure will require a ‌vast effort.

That project has the potential to define Rodriguez’s political future.

A close ally of U.S. President Donald Trump, she has sought to portray herself as an agent of political change even ‌though she served as vice president to her predecessor, socialist Nicolas Maduro, whom Washington ousted in January.

-Reuters

The death toll from two powerful earthquakes in Venezuela rose to 589, with 2,980 injured, acting President Delcy Rodríguez said early on Friday (June 26).

She made the announced surrounded by government and military officials as she welcomed the arrival of rescue crews from all over the world.

“We are going to rescue the people who are trapped,” she said. “We are working tirelessly on this task.” She said the state of La Guaira has been hardest hit by the 7.2 and 7.5 magnitude earthquakes that struck Wednesday evening, noting that it has been militarized as crews search for survivors and distribute food and water.

-AP

International search and rescue teams from at least 17 countries are being scrambled to Venezuela to help look for survivors of the devastating twin earthquakes, the United Nations said on Friday (June 26).

Getting those search and rescue teams to the scene is the “top priority”, the UN humanitarian agency OCHA said.

“Earthquakes are one of the most devastating things that can happen to any country,” spokesman Jens Laerke told reporters in Geneva. “It really is a terrifying thing.

“But what we are seeing right now is also an international mobilisation at its very best.

“The entire humanitarian system is moving very fast, and at scale.”

-AFP

China’s President Xi Jinping said on Friday (June 26) Beijing was ready to provide Venezuela with disaster relief and “reconstruction” assistance after it was hit by two major earthquakes, state media reported.

Mr. Xi sent “a message of condolences” to Venezuela’s interim President Delcy Rodriguez on Friday, Xinhua news agency said, after reporting the day before that two Chinese nationals were confirmed among the victims of the earthquakes that killed at least 235 people.

-AFP

India sent medical teams and 35 tons of emergency supplies, as well as a military field hospital, to quake-hit Venezuela on Friday (June 26), Foreign Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar said.

“Two Indian Air Force C-17s took-off today for Venezuela with urgent assistance to support their post-earthquake relief efforts,” Mr. Jaishankar said in a statement.

“The assistance contains an Indian army field hospital and over 35 tons of relief supplies, medicines and medical equipment,” he said.

The Indian Army said a team of 41 included nine medical officers.

Nine Portuguese and two Spanish nationals have been killed after two major earthquakes in Venezuela that killed at least 235 people, the countries’ foreign ministries said. 

Spanish Territorial Policy Minister Angel Victor Torres told Cadena Ser radio that 90 Spaniards were missing after the foreign ministry initially said 80 Spaniards were unaccounted for.

Portugal’s Foreign Ministry said 56 citizens were missing or otherwise unaccounted for.

“We deeply regret the death of two Spaniards, confirmed by their relatives, to whom we extend our condolences,” the Spanish Foreign Ministry said in a statement.

AFP

A father holds the hand of his daughter dressed as a fairy. A 24-year-old man in a pilot uniform stares proudly at the camera. A family embraces on a soccer field. 

They are among the images posted by relatives within Venezuela and abroad, desperately searching for their missing loved ones following two powerful, back-to-back earthquakes on Wednesday evening.

Health Minister Carlos Alvarado said late Thursday that the death toll had risen to around 235, with at least 4,300 people injured. The number of casualties is expected to climb after the 7.2- and 7.5-magnitude quakes that caused widespread damage and were among the strongest to strike Venezuela in more than a century.

With communication patchy, social media and online registries have become a crucial tool for many Venezuelans seeking information and resources beyond sparse government statistics. Independent online registries documenting up to 40,000 people missing far surpass the official government account.

While some rushed to search beneath the rubble of collapsed buildings, others created digital flyers on WhatsApp, Facebook and X with their relatives’ details.

– AP

A senior American military official has arrived in Venezuela’s capital, Caracas, to oversee relief efforts in the aftermath of powerful twin earthquakes that killed at least 235 people, the U.S. military said on Friday. 

“U.S. Marine Corps Maj. Gen. Kevin J. Jarrard arrived in Caracas, Venezuela, today, to oversee Department of War support to Venezuela earthquake relief efforts,” the U.S. Southern Command (SOUTHCOM) wrote on X, adding that Jarrard is serving as the senior SOUTHCOM official on the ground.

SOUTHCOM is supporting relief operations by the State Department, and Jarrard is serving as the senior SOUTHCOM official on the ground, it said in a statement on X.

“The interim Government of Venezuela formally requested U.S. support following the earthquakes,” it said.

The post included a photo of Jarrard greeted by what appeared to be two Venezuelan representatives at an unspecified location.

– AFP

Amparo del Giudice dug with her bare hands at a huge mound of concrete in search of her son, trapped under rubble after Venezuela’s strongest earthquake since 1900. 

Hers was one of many individual tragedies unfolding after quakes of magnitude 7.2 and 7.5 hit in quick succession in northern Venezuela on Wednesday evening, with La Guaira among the worst-affected regions.

On Thursday night, the death toll stood at 235, with around 4,300 people injured.

As time passed and no government help appeared, Ms. del Giudice became exasperated and flailed at the rubble.

“It is a lot of rock, and with bare hands it is impossible,” she said, sitting not far from where she thought her son was trapped.

Her grandson Alessandro, 23, donned a volunteer firefighter’s helmet and joined in the search for his missing father. “He is in there,” he said, sobbing as he looked at the remains of what was once a building.

– AFP

The Congress on Friday condoled the loss of lives in the twin earthquakes that have struck Venezuela and stressed that India stands ready to extend humanitarian assistance as well as every possible support to the Venezuelans as they confront this tragedy.

The opposition party said the people of India stand shoulder to shoulder with the people of Venezuela in this hour of grief.

In a post on X, Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge said, “On behalf of the Indian National Congress, I express our profound grief and deepest condolences over the catastrophic loss of life and widespread devastation caused by the twin earthquakes that have struck Venezuela.”

“Our heartfelt sympathies are with the bereaved families and every Venezuelan affected by this unimaginable tragedy. Our thoughts and prayers are with those who have lost their loved ones, those still trapped beneath the rubble, the injured, and the countless rescue workers risking their lives to save others,” the Congress chief said.

India and Venezuela have long shared warm and friendly relations, founded on mutual respect, solidarity, and cooperation, he said.

– PTI

Two Spanish nationals have been killed, and 80 are missing after two major earthquakes in Venezuela that killed at least 235, the Spanish foreign ministry said on Friday.

“We deeply regret the death of two Spaniards, confirmed by their relatives, to whom we extend our condolences,” the Ministry said in a statement, adding that “the number of Spaniards currently unaccounted for is 80.”

– AFP

In cities across northern Venezuela, neighbours helped each other dig through rubble to search for loved ones on Thursday after back-to-back earthquakes that officials say killed more than 230 people and left thousands injured the night before.

The official death toll rose to around 235 late on Thursday, with at least 4,300 people injured, Venezuela Health Minister Carlos Alvarado told state media. The number of casualties is expected to climb, with thousands reported missing and frantic rescue efforts continuing.

The injured were pulled out, covered in dust and blood, among them children and animals. Venezuelan state TV showed dramatic images of rescues, including a woman who was trapped under a cement slab with only a bare foot poking out before rescuers slid her out alive. But few government search teams were initially seen outside Caracas.

– AP

Here is what we know so far about the identities of the quakes’ overseas victims:

Two Brazilians

The Foreign Ministry of Brazil, which shares a border with Venezuela, said on Thursday that two of its citizens — a man and a woman — had died in the disaster.

The government was providing their relatives with consular assistance, the Ministry said.

One Italian-Venezuelan

A man in his mid-50s, born in Caracas and holding both Italian and Venezuelan nationality, was killed when a building collapsed in the hardest-hit region of La Guaira, Rome’s foreign ministry said Thursday.

Italy estimates there are about 170,000 Italian passport-holders in Venezuela.

Two Chinese

Two Chinese nationals were confirmed among the victims of the earthquakes as of Thursday afternoon, Beijing’s state news agency Xinhua reported, citing the embassy in Caracas.

The embassy posted a statement on its official WeChat account, urging Chinese citizens in Venezuela to “take precautions against secondary disasters caused by aftershocks and (other) earthquakes.

One Portuguese

Portugal’s Foreign Ministry said it “confirms the first death of a Portuguese citizen” in the quakes.

The man was pulled alive from the rubble but died on his way to the hospital, the Ministry said on X.

-AFP

United Nations-certified rescuers will help search for quake survivors, interim President Delcy Rodriguez said in a televised message.

Spain and France were sending dozens of specialists, and Germany promised six military transport planes.

Switzerland mobilized 80 personnel, eight rescue dogs and 18 tonnes of equipment to be sent to Venezuela as soon as possible.

Dutch Foreign Trade Minister Sjoerd Sjoerdsma announced a two-million-euro aid package to deploy a search-and-rescue team, while the Czech Republic said its team was preparing to fly in.

The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) said it had released $2.5 million to support recovery efforts.

Pope Leo XIV sent “initial” emergency aid of 100,000 euros ($114,000) to Venezuela, the Vatican announced. 

The United States said it was deploying two warships, transport planes and helicopters and mobilizing $150 million in aid. 

China said it was “willing to provide what help it can in an appropriate manner according to the needs of the Venezuelan side,” according to foreign ministry spokesperson Guo Jiakun.

Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei voiced “Iran’s readiness to provide any assistance required in relief and rescue operations”. 

Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva announced the dispatch of a field hospital to Venezuela, as well as 36 firefighters and several rescue and communications specialists via two flights on Friday and Saturday.

Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum said her country was dispatching a military team of rescuers and medical personnel to Venezuela and would send further assistance if necessary. 

Cuban health workers were already “fully mobilized and providing medical services to the affected population,” said Foreign Minister Bruno Rodriguez.

Chilean President Jose Antonio Kast said he was dispatching humanitarian aid and rescue teams to Venezuela.

Colombia, which also felt the quakes, will send more than 60 rescuers and 12 tons of humanitarian aid to its neighbour, its disaster management agency said. 

Argentina, Costa Rica and Uruguay also expressed solidarity, while Ecuador and the Dominican Republic both said they had readied aid to send.

-AFP