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Death toll in Venezuela twin earthquakes tops 1,400; rescuers race against time
Venezuela's government said on Saturday 1,600 members of foreign rescue teams had arrived to help search for survivors
- PUBLISHED: Sat 27 Jun 2026, 9:26 PM UPDATED: Sat 27 Jun 2026, 9:48 PM
The death toll from the devastating twin earthquakes that hit Venezuela earlier this week has jumped to 1,430, according to top lawmaker Jorge Rodriguez. Another 3,200 people were injured and 3,100 left homeless by the disaster, he added on state television.
Venezuela's government said on Saturday 1,600 members of foreign rescue teams had arrived to help search for survivors of the devastating twin earthquakes.
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Residents and volunteers in La Guaira, a popular destination for beachgoers where at least 100 buildings, many of them residential high-rises, were destroyed or damaged, have for days decried shortages of heavy equipment and a limited official presence as they have worked to pull the living and the dead from the rubble.
Venezuela's interim President Delcy Rodriguez said in an overnight address on state television that 10 more countries were still to join rescue efforts and 14,000 military and police members were in La Guaira to patrol and take sanitary measures.
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"In recent hours, Venezuela has received 17 flights carrying more than 1,600 members of rescue teams, and over the next 24 hours, the arrival of 25 additional flights is expected," said foreign ministry official Oliver Blanco.
"We thank the international community for its support and solidarity during these moments of uncertainty for Venezuelans," Blanco added on X on Saturday.
Rescuers have been making their way to sites around La Guaira state and Venezuela's capital Caracas, although on Friday some areas were still largely without an official presence as families and neighbours struggled to find missing loved ones in the rubble, sometimes digging with their hands.
Officials closed the road between La Guaira and nearby Caracas on Friday evening, saying heavy traffic was preventing quick passage of emergency vehicles and official rescuers.
The government had promised accredited journalists would be able to reach the area, but only by government bus, because of the risk of disease. As of noon on Saturday, no buses had yet transported journalists.
Reporters from state media were allowed to enter and told state television rescues were proceeding.
Civilians who are not part of official rescue teams will need a credential to pass the roadblock and Reuters witnesses were prevented from using the main road on Saturday morning by police, while an older secondary road was choked with traffic.
The government had previously thanked civilians who brought aid, often by motorcycle, to desperate residents. Venezuelan state television showed images of thousands of pairs of shoes, clothing and other aid being collected by the government.
While the power remained out near the quakes' epicenter in Moron on Friday, as well as fully down in La Guaira, it was being restored in other places, with Rodriguez saying that 60% of electricity had now been restored.
Venezuela's power grid, crippled by years of underinvestment and economic sanctions, regularly experiences problems, leading to daily, hours-long blackouts in some regions.
Although the government has said hundreds are missing or trapped, more than 54,000 people are listed as unaccounted for on a website promoted by the country's opposition.
The U.S. Geological Survey estimated more than 10,000 deaths were possible from the magnitude 7.2 and 7.5 quakes, which would place them among Latin America's deadliest of the last century.