A woman weeps in front of rubble in Caracas, Venezuela, on Wednesday. Two powerful earthquakes struck Venezuela, including a magnitude 7.5 earthquake, causing buildings to collapse as authorities assessed damage and possible casualties, according to the US Geological Survey and local officials. Photo by Ronald Pena R/EPAUPI
June 24 (UPI) -- A pair of major earthquakes hit near the Venezuelan capital of Caracas on Wednesday evening, collapsing buildings and killing dozens of people.
The first temblor -- a magnitude 7.2 -- hit at 6:04 p.m. local time and was followed 39 seconds later by a magnitude 7.5 strike, the U.S. Geological Survey said.
Wednesday was a holiday in Venezuela, and more people than usual were at home instead of on an evening commute.
The first earthquake struck about 14 miles southeast of Yumare, with the second temblor hitting about 17 miles from the northwestern Venezuelan city.
