Venezuela earthquake death toll hits 1,450; 17 Spaniards dead, 150 missing as rescue efforts press on

Casualties and missing persons

Five days after a double earthquake shook northern Venezuela, the official death toll has climbed to 1,450, with 3,150 people injured. The quakes, which struck at 18:06 local time on Wednesday 24 June, caused nearly 800 buildings to collapse, 189 of them completely. Among the dead are 17 Spanish nationals, and 150 Spaniards remain missing. Twelve Spanish citizens have been located under the rubble. The United Nations estimates that almost seven million people have been affected, with material damages reaching $6.7 billion, or 6% of the country's GDP.

Rescue operations and challenges

Rescue teams, including international brigades with sniffer dogs, are working through mountains of debris in La Guaira, the coastal state worst hit by the disaster. On Sunday, they managed to pull 33 survivors from the wreckage. Basic services are slowly being restored: electricity has returned to 75% of the area, water to 68%, and 90% of roads are now passable. Yet the operation is hampered by a lack of coordination, the collapse of the sole highway linking Caracas to La Guaira, and a severe shortage of equipment. The government has distributed face masks as the odor of decomposing bodies raises infection risks.

We will continue working deployed across the affected territories, with a great concentration of national government efforts in the State of La Guaira.

International aid and response

The European Union has activated an emergency fund of five million euros for the affected zones, EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas confirmed. International rescue brigades are assisting local teams, while the UN's damage assessment highlights the scale of the catastrophe in a nation already mired in political and economic crisis.

Political reactions

Opposition leader and Nobel Peace Prize laureate María Corina Machado announced she will return to Venezuela "very soon," declaring that her absolute priority is saving lives and comforting those affected. In a Fox News interview, she stressed the importance of unity in sharing pain and grief.

The time has come. My absolute priority is to save lives and, of course, to console and help those who have suffered damage.

Acting President Delcy Rodríguez, in a recorded address, thanked the rescue workers, firefighters, civil protection personnel, and the armed forces, vowing that search efforts would continue without interruption. As the fifth day begins, hopes of finding more survivors are fading, but authorities insist the search will go on.