More than 3,360 people are injured with at least 172 still trapped under the rubble In the aftermath of the 7.2- and 7.5-magnitude earthquakes that struck in quick succession on Wednesday evening.
Families posted online images of their loved ones who have not been heard from since the earthquakes. As of Friday morning, 57,287 people had been reported missing, and there was still no contact from 49, 519 of them
Rodríguez told CNN that the public should avoid La Guaira, the hardest-hit area.
“We appreciate the overwhelming desire to help, but the roads we are using to transport the injured are becoming congested. The best way to help is to keep the roads clear so that medical teams can transport patients and rescue crews can carry out their work more effectively,” he said
Acting President Delcy Rodríguez announced the new death toll as she welcomed the arrival of rescue crews from all over the world. “We are going to rescue the people who are trapped,” she said, according to the Associated Press.
Missing-person flyers with photos of loved ones were handed out in the streets while others shared handwritten lists of names as they searched, the AP reported.
Rescuers are searching for survivors in collapsed buildings in Caracas and the state of La Guaira where cries for help were audible from under debris.
Venezuelan state TV showed images of rescues, including one of a woman trapped under a cement slab who was brought out alive. Graciela Mora was conscious as she was pulled from the rubble in La Guaira, telling reporters, "when the earthquake started, I clung as tightly as I could to the doorframe."
The second earthquake was the strongest to hit the country since 1900, forming a so-called "doublet" sequence, which differs from the typical scenario in which a larger quake is followed by much smaller aftershocks.
Both earthquakes were shallow at less than 20 miles below ground, potentially adding to the damage.
Marcos Ferreira, a geophysicist and researcher at the Geological Survey of Brazil, told the AP the one-two punch of the quakes, along with the shallow seismic movements, amplified the destruction. The U.S. Geological Survey said the two earthquakes were centered near Moron on the Caribbean coast, 105 miles west of the Venezuelan capital Caracas.
Foreigners are among those who have been killed although search efforts are continuing, and the full number of casualties remains to be seen.
Spain’s foreign minister José Manuel Albares said three Spanish nationals were confirmed to have died and 99 were missing.
Brazil’s foreign ministry said that a Brazilian man and a Brazilian woman had died, while China’s embassy in Caracas said that two Chinese nationals had also been killed. The AFP News agency reported that nine Portuguese nationals had died.
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