Death toll from twin Venezuela earthquakes reaches 1,430; international rescue teams race against time
The death toll from the magnitude 7.2 and 7.5 earthquakes that struck northern Venezuela on Wednesday evening has risen to 1,430, with more than 3,200 injured and an estimated 50,000 missing, as over 1,600 international rescuers join search operations hampered by hundreds of aftershocks.
The earthquakes
Two powerful tremors hit northern Venezuela on 24 June around 18:00 local time. The US Geological Survey recorded a magnitude 7.2 shock followed 39 seconds later by a stronger 7.5 quake, both centred roughly 170 kilometres west of Caracas. The agency said these were the strongest earthquakes within a 250‑kilometre radius of the epicentre since the early 20th century.
- Two earthquakes of magnitude 7.2 and 7.5 strike northern Venezuela near Caracas.
- Death toll reaches 920; a magnitude 4.9 aftershock hits; international rescue teams begin arriving.
- Death toll rises to 1,430; more than 1,600 foreign rescuers deployed; humanitarian runway opens at Caracas airport.
Rising casualty count
By Saturday, Jorge Rodriguez, president of Venezuela's National Assembly, announced that the confirmed death toll had reached 1,430, up from 920 reported a day earlier. He said at least 3,238 people were injured and 3,142 had been left homeless. Over 100 buildings collapsed in the capital Caracas and the coastal state of La Guaira, the hardest‑hit area.
So far, we calculate that 1,430 brothers and sisters have died.
At least 44 foreign nationals are among the dead: 28 Portuguese (with 85 missing), five Spanish (133 missing), two Brazilians, one Chilean, seven Chinese, and one Italian‑Venezuelan dual citizen. Poland’s foreign ministry said no Polish citizens were known to have been affected. The UN humanitarian chief Tom Fletcher said the number of missing is estimated at around 50,000, and the International Organization for Migration assessed that as many as 6.76 million people may have been affected.
- Fatalities
- 1430 people
- Injured
- 3238 people
- Homeless
- 3142 people
Rescue operations
More than 1,600 foreign rescuers had landed in Venezuela by Saturday aboard 17 aircraft, according to deputy foreign minister Oliver Blanco, with another 25 flights expected during the day. Teams from El Salvador, Mexico, the Dominican Republic, Switzerland, Ecuador, Spain, Chile, Colombia and the United States were already on the ground, while contingents from the Netherlands, Germany and Italy were en route. El Salvador’s president Nayib Bukele reported that his country’s team pulled a 39‑year‑old woman alive from rubble after seven hours and later rescued a teenager and her dog from a collapsed building in Catia La Mar.
The international airport near Caracas, closed because of damage, reopened one runway for humanitarian flights, which US officials said would accelerate aid delivery. Rescue efforts are still within what experts describe as a crucial 72‑hour window for finding survivors, but they are hampered by equipment shortages and frequent aftershocks, over 400 had been recorded by Saturday, including a magnitude 4.9 tremor on Friday.
A country already in crisis
The earthquakes struck Venezuela as it was already grappling with a severe economic and humanitarian emergency. The UN estimated before the disaster that about 8 million people, roughly one‑third of the population, required humanitarian assistance. Years of economic collapse and authoritarian rule have weakened the health‑care system and the state’s disaster‑response capacity.
The need for humanitarian aid is immediate and significant.
