Caracas, Venezuela. Rescue teams worked through the night in and around Caracas after Wednesday’s double earthquake in Venezuela, as the US Geological Survey warned the death toll could reach thousands and may substantially exceed 10,000. At least 32 people were confirmed dead and 700 injured as of Wednesday night.
Casualty estimates and missing persons
The USGS said its predictive modelling pointed to a far higher final death toll than the initial official figures. Interim President Delcy Rodriguez said the early numbers did not include casualties from La Guaira, the worst-affected state near Caracas and home to the city’s airport, which had been closed.
More than 6,600 people had been listed as unaccounted for on a missing persons website posted on X by opposition leaders shortly after 2am local time.
Rescue efforts in Caracas
Video footage showed emergency workers climbing over the flattened debris of collapsed buildings in the capital as night fell, while several survivors were taken away, some on stretchers. Rodriguez said rescue crews from other countries were expected in the coming hours.
“Dozens of buildings have collapsed, and we are currently carrying out very intense rescue efforts to save as many lives as God allows us to save,” Rodriguez said in a television appearance just before 1am local time.
“This is a true tragedy. To those families who have lost loved ones, we reaffirm our condolences and our support in these difficult hours,” she said.
Emergency response and public services
Staff at Caracas’s Hospital de Clinicas were asked to extend night shifts to treat the injured. Classes were cancelled for the rest of the week as authorities began assessing the damage.
Witness accounts
“When we went downstairs, the scene was like a horror movie,” said Maria Alejandra, a resident near one of the collapsed sites who did not give her surname. “We had to climb over the rubble and everything. But from that building, I only saw that one family got out.”
Maria Romero, an 80-year-old pensioner in southern Caracas, said police helped her evacuate. “This earthquake was horrible, even worse than the one in 1967,” she said.
In western Caracas, Astrid Ramirez, a 41-year-old publicist, said: “As soon as it started, we began hearing people screaming. Everyone was running down the stairs.”