Venezuela earthquake death toll rises to 5,208 as rescue efforts continue

The death toll from the earthquakes that struck Venezuela has risen to 5,208, according to Jorge Rodríguez, the country’s parliament speaker, who announced the figures on his Telegram channel.

Rodríguez said the number of fatalities increased by 139 over the past 24 hours, while the number of people rescued remained unchanged.

Updated government data show that assistance has been provided to 128,324 families. A total of 23,820 people are currently staying in 107 temporary shelters, while 17,907 residents have been left homeless.

The earthquakes damaged 856 buildings, 190 of which were completely destroyed.

Efforts to deal with the aftermath of the disaster involve 30,989 emergency responders, 31,745 volunteers and 2,278 foreign rescue workers.

Seismic activity continues across the country, with 1,388 aftershocks recorded so far.

On June 24, Venezuela was hit by two powerful earthquakes measuring 7.2 and 7.5 in magnitude. The quakes were among the strongest to strike the country in more than a century. Their epicentres were located near the city of Morón in Carabobo state, about 160 kilometres west of Caracas, leaving thousands of people affected.

By Jeyhun Aghazada