Authorities reported 2,645 deaths and more than 12,000 injured as rescue operations began to wind down after the earthquakes.
A dog from the Mexican army is seen at the site of a collapsed building in Caraballeda, La Guaira state, Venezuela, on Jul 3, 2026. (Photo: AFP/Martin Bernetti)
04 Jul 2026 05:52AM
CARABALLEDEA, Venezuela: With little hope of finding loved ones alive, frustrated families of those affected by Venezuela's double earthquakes clamoured for help to recover their loved one's bodies Friday (Jul 3) as uncertainty grew over the death toll from the tragedy.Authorities on Friday reported a total of 2,645 deaths and more than 12,000 wounded from the 7.2 and 7.5 magnitude earthquakes that struck the country last week, with most fatalities in the coastal town of La Guaira, where scores of residential complexes were flattened. Officials have avoided estimating the number of missing, though the UN has put that figure at as many as 50,000. Many survivors who were left homeless meanwhile are sleeping in the streets or in makeshift shelters set up in parks and public spaces.Nine days after one of Latin America's worst earthquake disasters, rescue teams were beginning to wind down search operations for survivors, although many relatives still clinged desperately to any sound from the rubble as a sign of life.In front of the Tahiti building in the Caraballeda sector of La Guaira, one rescuer reported hearing shouts from an adult in the early morning hours Friday.Reports also emerged that a 9-year-old boy had been found alive, but foreign rescuers told AFP there was no trace of any survivors.Outside the Tahiti, frustrations boiled over as families trying to recover bodies shouted at others wanting to clear the way for a potential rescue."Until I recover the bodies, I won't be at peace," said Jose Francisco Liendo, who was trying to dig out the remains of his father and sister."Don't let the machines come and take them away like garbage."
