ByREUTERSJUNE 28, 2026 08:42At least 1,430 people have been reported dead, 3,238 injured, and as many as 50,000 are missing following the two earthquakes that struck Venezuela on Wednesday, top Venezuelan lawmaker Jorge Rodriguez said on Saturday.Some 3,142 people have been left homeless by the disaster, he added on state television, noting that more than 12,000 interventions have been made in disaster zones.The updated toll came as rescuers fanned out across La Guaira and parts of Caracas, where families and volunteers have spent days pulling survivors and bodies from the rubble, often complaining of scant heavy equipment and a limited official presence.Over 1,500 foreign rescuers arrive to aid in search effortsOfficials said more than 1,600 foreign rescuers had arrived and that additional teams were on the way, adding to a growing international response to the twin quakes that struck on Wednesday and unleashed hundreds of aftershocks.In Caraballeda, one of the worst-hit areas of La Guaira, US helicopters ferried rescue teams into a dusty landing zone, according to Reuters witnesses, dropping off crews before taking off again.Rescue personnel work as rescue operations continue after earthquakes hit the country, in La Guaira, Venezuela, June 27, 2026. (credit: REUTERS/Maxwell Briceno)Among the crowds of volunteers was Alejandro Serrano, a 33-year-old industrial engineer who had traveled from San Cristobal in western Venezuela searching for his 24-year-old sister, Ana Serrano, who lived in the Bahía Mar building in Caraballeda, which was destroyed in the quakes.Serrano said he searched Thursday night at Caracas' Perez Carreno Hospital, but did not find her. He said he had given his sister's details and the address to rescue teams from Argentina and El Salvador."I hope they don't find her" in the rubble, he said, meaning he hoped she was still alive. "But I need to find her."Authorities continued to restrict access to La Guaira and maintained controls on the main road from Caracas, saying traffic was slowing emergency vehicles. Civilians not attached to official rescue teams needed credentials to pass checkpoints.Power throughout the region was gradually returning. Venezuela's power grid, crippled by years of underinvestment and economic sanctions, regularly experiences problems, leading to daily, hours-long blackouts in some regions.Some 55,000 missingAlthough the government has said hundreds are missing or trapped, more than 55,000 people are listed as unaccounted for on a website promoted by the country's opposition.The US Geological Survey estimated more than 10,000 deaths were possible from the magnitude 7.2 and 7.5 quakes, which would place them among Latin America's deadliest of the last century.The disaster could have political consequences for interim President Delcy Rodriguez, who has portrayed herself as an agent of change even though she served as vice president to Nicolas Maduro, who was ousted and arrested by the US in January.Pope Leo, speaking in Rome on Saturday, offered prayers for the victims, their families, and those involved in relief operations, and said he hoped global solidarity with Venezuela would endure.The US has sent aid to Venezuela in the aftermath of the quakes. A senior US administration official said on Saturday that a funding package worth hundreds of millions of dollars is expected to be announced within the next day or so, in addition to $150 million that the Trump administration has already committed.A White House official also told Reuters that a renewed push by Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Corina Machado, who left Venezuela late last year, for US help to return home is frustrating senior officials in Washington, who said it was too soon after the disaster.Follow us on Google