National Assembly chief Jorge Rodriguez said at least 188 people were killed and 1,520 injured after two powerful earthquakes struck Venezuela.
A woman walks past a building damaged during an earthquake in La Guaira, Venezuela, Thursday, Jun 25, 2026. (Photo: AP/Pedro Mattey)
26 Jun 2026 02:52AM
CARACAS: Desperate Venezuelans battled Thursday (Jun 25) to rescue loved ones trapped alive beneath the rubble of collapsed buildings after two major earthquakes that killed at least 188 people.Buildings cracked and crumbled and residents fled into the streets after the quakes, which the United States Geological Survey measured at magnitudes 7.2 and 7.5, hit northern Venezuela within a minute of each other on Wednesday night.Offers of rescue support and aid flooded in as National Assembly chief Jorge Rodriguez said the death toll had risen to 188, with 1,520 injured. Powerful aftershocks could still be felt Thursday.The state of La Guaira north of Caracas was hit particularly hard, and residents stumbled through debris calling out the names of loved ones or tried in vain to rescue the injured."There's a spot where a young woman named Jennifer, from the 11th floor, answers me. However, we don't have any tools; we have no way to help," said Antonio Bermudez, whose building collapsed in La Guaira.Elsewhere in the rubble, a father and his son were using a pickaxe and a crowbar to pry away massive slabs to get to two of his other sons, said Bermudez."They're still alive ... there's nothing more we can do. We're telling them not to strain their voices, to take short breaths, in the hope that at least the three of them who are there will be rescued."AFP reporters witnessed residents looting a local supermarket in La Guaira.The coastal city was without electricity, and many residents spent the night in the streets or searching for their relatives. "We thank God that ... we are alive, but there are people suffering right now with family members trapped under the rubble or pinned down, unable to get them out," resident Yilsmaris Blanco told AFP.
