Death Toll Climbs to Nearly 3,000 After Venezuela’s Twin Earthquakes

Rabat – The death toll from the twin earthquakes that devastated Venezuela on June 24 has risen to 2,954, authorities announced on Saturday, as international search-and-rescue teams begin winding down operations amid diminishing hopes of finding more survivors.

The back-to-back earthquakes, measuring 7.2 and 7.5 in magnitude, struck just seconds apart, making them among the deadliest natural disasters to hit Latin America in recent years. The coastal state of La Guaira, north of the capital Caracas, bore the brunt of the destruction, with entire neighborhoods reduced to rubble.

While rescue crews managed to pull several survivors from collapsed buildings during the past week, the critical 72-hour rescue window has long passed. Heavy machinery has now replaced much of the manual search effort, clearing debris as some families continue searching for the bodies of missing relatives.

Authorities have recorded 942 aftershocks since the initial quakes, complicating rescue and recovery efforts and posing ongoing risks to emergency workers and residents.

The Venezuelan government has not released an official estimate of the number of people still missing. However, the United Nations estimates that as many as 50,000 people remain unaccounted for, underscoring the scale of the disaster.

Maiquetía International Airport in La Guaira has partially resumed operations to receive humanitarian aid flights. Officials said they are working with international partners to restore full airport services as recovery efforts transition from emergency response to long-term reconstruction.

During a ceremony honoring international rescue teams and canine units that assisted in the response, acting President Delcy Rodríguez described the tragedy as a period of “profound national grief.”

“The pain is immense, but so is the solidarity shown by the international community,” Rodríguez said, as Venezuela continues to mourn thousands of lives lost while many families still await news of missing loved ones.

As international rescue teams gradually conclude their missions, authorities are shifting their focus toward debris removal, humanitarian assistance, and rebuilding communities devastated by one of the country’s worst earthquake disasters.