Twin earthquakes near Caracas kill nearly 190 as rescue effort continues

Venezuela is racing to rescue people trapped under rubble after two powerful earthquakes struck near Caracas, killing nearly 190 people and leaving thousands homeless. The first quake, measured at magnitude 7.2, hit about 160 kilometres west of the capital on Wednesday evening. Less than a minute later, a magnitude 7.5 tremor followed, deepening the damage across Caracas and nearby coastal areas.

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Officials said 188 people had been confirmed dead by Thursday afternoon, while 200 remained trapped and 1,520 had been hospitalised. Jorge Rodriguez, head of the national assembly and brother of interim President Delcy Rodriguez, gave the latest figures and said the government was working to speed up rescues. He said the disaster had overwhelmed local capacity, while aftershocks continued to shake the capital and surrounding areas.

The damage has spread across critical infrastructure, with at least eight hospitals reported badly damaged. The headquarters of the Venezuelan Red Cross and the French embassy were also among the buildings affected. Caracas airport was closed after suffering damage, and witness videos from the terminal showed ceiling panels falling as passengers fled in panic.

In La Guaira state, which borders Caracas and includes the capital's main airport, Interior Minister Diosdado Cabello said about 70,000 families had been affected. The earthquakes have struck a country already weakened by years of economic turmoil, which has left much of its infrastructure fragile. That has made rescue work harder, especially as electricity remained scarce in parts of La Guaira and emergency crews struggled to reach collapsed buildings.

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The scale of the disruption also matters because the affected area includes the main transport link for the capital and a coastal state that appears to have taken some of the heaviest damage. La Guaira was described by the acting president as a disaster zone, and the government said it was working with private companies to bring in heavy equipment. Emergency workers and volunteers searched through collapsed buildings into the night, while residents in some areas said official help had been slow to arrive.

In La Guaira city, families waited for news of missing relatives as volunteers dug through wreckage by hand. Along the Caracas-La Guaira highway, civilians carried water, food and medicine toward the coast to support the response. What remains unclear is how many people are still missing and how quickly rescue teams can reach the most badly damaged sites.

The death toll may rise if trapped residents are not reached in time, and the extent of structural damage is still being assessed. The next developments to watch are the pace of rescue operations, the restoration of power and transport links, and whether aftershocks cause further disruption.

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