Venezuela quake death toll nears 1,500 as rescue work goes on

CARACAS — Rescue teams continued searching for survivors on Sunday following the two powerful earthquakes that struck Venezuela earlier this week, as officials expressed hope that more people could still be found alive beneath the rubble.

The death toll from Wednesday's twin earthquakes has climbed to nearly 1,500, with foreign rescue teams arriving in La Guaira, the hardest-hit state in the country. Dozens of buildings collapsed in the coastal region, located about 40 kilometers (25 miles) north of Caracas.

Interim President Delcy Rodriguez said rescue and recovery operations remain underway after several survivors were pulled from the debris on Sunday.

"Rescue and recovery efforts are ongoing. Today we have recovered people alive, and therefore operations are not being suspended. We always maintain hope," Rodriguez said.

She also announced the creation of a presidential commission to assess the safety of damaged buildings, extended the suspension of classes for another week, and said electricity service in La Guaira had been restored to 75%.

Authorities tightened access to roads leading to the disaster zone, saying heavy traffic was slowing the movement of emergency vehicles despite continued deliveries of aid from civilian volunteers.

Officials said the death toll reached 1,450 by Sunday, with 3,150 people injured, 12,721 displaced, and 774 buildings destroyed. Rescue efforts remain focused on locating survivors and providing temporary shelter for residents who have lost their homes.

Families and volunteers initially led rescue operations before more than 2,600 international rescue workers arrived, often citing a shortage of heavy equipment and limited government resources. Hundreds of aftershocks have further complicated recovery efforts and kept residents on edge.

Government officials said at least 33 people had been rescued alive by Saturday evening, including several children, while tens of thousands remain unaccounted for.

On Sunday, rescue workers successfully pulled a father and his son alive from the rubble of a collapsed building. An opposition-backed website listing missing persons reported just under 50,000 people still unaccounted for, down from approximately 55,000 a day earlier.

The U.S. Geological Survey estimated that the magnitude 7.2 and 7.5 earthquakes could ultimately claim more than 10,000 lives, potentially making them among the deadliest earthquakes in Latin America's recent history.

Sebastian Eugster, leader of the Swiss rescue team, said the first 72 hours after a disaster are the most critical for finding survivors.

"There exists a window of roughly three days, 72 hours, where the probability afterwards decreases that you can save people alive," he said.

His team located several survivors using search dogs but was unable to reach them in time.

Several children were rescued over the weekend, including an infant saved by U.S. rescue crews and two 11-year-old boys rescued separately by Colombian and Mexican teams. One of the boys suffered a broken arm after spending hours trapped beneath the rubble, while his mother and sister were killed.

Pope Leo offered prayers for the victims during his Angelus address on Sunday, expressing solidarity with those affected and gratitude to emergency responders.

A senior U.S. official said Washington is expected to announce additional disaster assistance worth hundreds of millions of dollars, on top of the $150 million already pledged by the Trump administration.

Meanwhile, opposition leader and Nobel Peace Prize laureate Maria Corina Machado announced plans to return to Venezuela after months in hiding abroad. A White House official said U.S. officials believe it is too soon for her return given the ongoing emergency.

The disaster also disrupted the country's energy sector. Workers at Venezuela's largest refinery, the 645,000-barrel-per-day Amuay refinery, said operations were suspended on Sunday following a major power outage in Falcon state. -Reporting by Vivian Sequera in Caracas and Efrain Otero en La Guaira; Additional reporting by Diego Ore in Mexico City, Julia Symmes Cobb in Bogota, Francesca Landini in Vatican City, Akanksha Khushi in Bangalore; Writing by Julia Symmes Cobb and Stefanie Eschenbacher; Editing by Bill Berkrot, Christian Plumb and Chris Reese/Reuters