Hundreds of rescuers in Venezuela cheered and embraced on July 2 after pulling a 43-year-old man alive from the ruins of a collapsed building eight days after deadly twin earthquakes, AFP journalists witnessed.

Amid diminishing hope, a preliminary assessment via satellite data says the two earthquakes likely damaged or destroyed 58,870 buildings.

Approximately 6,500 people have been rescued from the rubble, while another 51,000 are still missing