Venezuela twin quakes death toll tops 1,400 as tens of thousands remain missing

The death toll from twin earthquakes in Venezuela rose Friday to nearly 1,000, with tens of thousands reported missing as international rescue teams boosted a desperate and slow-moving search for survivors. Caracas residents jeered interim leader Delcy Rodriguez during her visit to a devastated neighborhood, as fury over the perceived lack of an official response mounted.

United Nations aid chief Tom Fletcher told AFP that more than 50,000 people were missing after two powerful earthquakes struck within a minute of each other on Wednesday evening, flattening buildings in the north of the country. The coastal area of La Guaira, near the capital Caracas, was the worst hit, with one building after another crumpled by the magnitude 7.2 and 7.5 quakes. Access to the disaster zone was restricted from 8pm on Friday, Interior Minister Diosdado Cabello announced in a televised address.

A rescue team from Chile arrived at one residential complex in La Guaira made up of four tall buildings housing hundreds of apartments that had largely been reduced to rubble. "Unfortunately, the collapse is total, and there is little chance of finding survivors. Efforts are now focused on recovering the bodies of the deceased," team leader Nadiomar Polanco said at the site, which resembles many others in the city. Elsewhere, family members, neighbors and volunteers used their bare hands to try to dig out survivors, bemoaning the lack of heavy machinery or official help to save those trapped alive.

In an upscale Caracas neighborhood, Rodriguez was greeted with angry chants from a crowd of people whose loved ones were trapped under the debris. "The government isn't doing anything for the people," they yelled from behind cordons next to a pulverized building. AFP saw workers using sledgehammers to break through detritus, calling for "absolute silence" to detect cries from survivors.

The UN humanitarian agency OCHA said search and rescue teams from at least 17 countries were being mobilized to help find survivors. Spanish, Salvadoran, Swiss, Colombian, and Mexican rescue teams were already on the ground. Rodriguez said Friday she had received a call from US President Donald Trump and Secretary of State Marco Rubio who reaffirmed their commitment to supporting the response efforts. The United States said it was sending a disaster response team of more than 250 personnel, including three special search-and-rescue units with dogs.

Those killed included 28 Portuguese nationals, five Spaniards, two Brazilians, seven Chinese nationals, one Chilean and one Italian-Venezuelan. 85 Portuguese nationals and 119 Spaniards were missing or otherwise unaccounted for. The quakes were the most powerful to hit Venezuela since a 7.7-magnitude tremor struck offshore in 1900. Minutes of silence preceded Friday's World Cup 2026 matches to honor the victims of the tragedy.