Death Toll in Venezuela Earthquakes Rises to 920
Rescue workers from around the world yesterday intensified efforts to locate survivors trapped beneath collapsed buildings in Venezuela after two powerful earthquakes killed more than 900 people and left thousands injured in one of the country’s deadliest natural disasters in more than a century.
According to Venezuelan authorities, at least 920 people have been confirmed dead, while more than 3,300 others sustained injuries after the twin earthquakes, measuring magnitudes 7.2 and 7.5, struck barely a minute apart on Wednesday night. The second quake is believed to be the strongest to hit the South American nation since 1900.
Emergency workers are racing against time to rescue those feared trapped under rubble before the critical 72-hour “golden window” for finding survivors begins to close, the BBC reported.
The worst-hit areas include the capital, Caracas, the coastal state of La Guaira and neighbouring communities, where hundreds of buildings were reduced to piles of concrete and twisted steel.
