Members of Venezuela's Civil Defense team remove debris and search for survivors at buildings collapsed during the earthquakes in Chacao in eastern Caracas, Venezuela, Thursday. Two earthquakes of magnitude 7.2 and 7.5 struck Venezuela on Wednesday. Photo by Boris Vegraga/EPA
June 25 (UPI) -- Large earthquakes hit Venezuela Wednesday evening and killed at least 188 people, authorities said.
National Assembly President Jorge Rodríguez reported the death toll Thursday, adding that 1,520 have been injured and 157 are missing. More than 200 people are trapped under the rubble of about 250 collapsed buildings.
The epicenter was near the coast in northern Venezuela, east of Caracas. The first quake hit at 6:04 p.m. local time Wednesday, then 39 seconds later a second, stronger quake hit. The first was a magnitude 7.2, then the second was 7.5, according to the U.S. Geological Survey. More people were at their homes than usual because Wednesday was a holiday in Venezuela.
The USGS said there is a 44% chance that deaths will exceed 10,000 and a 30% chance that there will be more than 100,000. The agency added that aftershocks may still happen.
