Venezuela races to rescue survivors as quake death toll hits 235

Venezuela is racing against time to rescue hundreds of people feared trapped beneath collapsed buildings after twin powerful earthquakes devastated the country's central coast and capital, killing at least 235 people and injuring hundreds more, authorities said on Thursday.

The country's health ministry raised the death toll on Thursday evening, warning that the number is expected to rise as emergency crews struggle to reach some of the worst-hit areas buried under rubble.

The shallow earthquakes, measuring 7.2 and 7.5 magnitude, struck just 40 seconds apart on Wednesday at a depth of only 10 kilometres, making them the strongest to hit Venezuela in more than a century and the country's deadliest seismic disaster in decades, according to Xinhua news agency.

The powerful tremors flattened buildings, triggered widespread power and communication outages, and left entire neighbourhoods in ruins across the capital Caracas and parts of the country's central coast. Continuous aftershocks have further hampered rescue operations, raising fears of additional building collapses.

National assembly president Jorge Rodriguez said around 200 people remain trapped beneath collapsed structures as rescuers work against the clock.

"We are racing against time in the hope of rescuing as many people as possible," Rodriguez told a press conference.

Experts said the earthquakes' shallow depth allowed much of their energy to be released near the surface, significantly increasing their destructive impact. Their epicentres were also close to Caracas, one of Venezuela's most densely populated regions, amplifying the scale of devastation.

Seismologists noted that Venezuela has not experienced an earthquake of this magnitude in nearly five decades, leaving many communities with limited disaster preparedness. Years of underinvestment in infrastructure have also heightened concerns over the vulnerability of aging buildings to major seismic activity.

As rescue efforts continue, Rodriguez announced a series of emergency measures to accelerate relief and reconstruction. These include mobilising heavy debris-removal equipment from private companies, creating a 200-million-USD emergency assistance fund, and extending special credit lines to affected businesses.

Meanwhile, foreign minister Yvan Gil said Venezuela is coordinating international assistance after at least a dozen countries from the region and beyond offered support and expressed solidarity with the disaster-stricken nation.

Authorities warned that with many areas still inaccessible and hundreds unaccounted for, the final toll is likely to rise in the coming days.

With IANS inputs