The death toll from Venezuela's devastating back-to-back earthquakes has surged to at least 589, acting President Delcy Rodríguez announced early Friday, with thousands still missing and frantic search-and-rescue operations ongoing.
Rodríguez made the announcement flanked by government and military officials as she welcomed the arrival of international rescue crews. She said the state of La Guaira had been hardest hit and had been placed under military control to coordinate survivor searches and the distribution of food and water. "We are going to rescue the people who are trapped," she said. "We are working tirelessly on this task."
The International Organization for Migration warned that up to 6.76 million people across Venezuela could be affected by the disaster, with around 2 million of those in the capital, Caracas, alone.
Around 1,000 emergency responders across 25 search-and-rescue teams are deploying to Venezuela, according to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. Rescuers with specialist equipment, including cameras and ground-penetrating radar arrived from Spain on Friday, with teams from Germany, Chile and Switzerland also landing. Turkey, China, Qatar, Brazil, Portugal and Canada have all pledged assistance.
