Fresh 4.6 aftershock rocks Venezuela as search for twin quake survivors continues

Venezuela's devastating earthquake disaster deepened on Monday after a fresh 4.6-magnitude aftershock rattled areas north of Caracas, adding to fears among exhausted survivors and rescue teams as the death toll from last week's twin earthquakes climbed close to 1,500.

The US Geological Survey said the aftershock struck at a depth of 10 kilometres (6 miles). No damage was immediately reported. Multiple aftershocks have continued to rattle the country since Wednesday's twin earthquakes.

Authorities said Wednesday's powerful 7.2 and 7.5 magnitude earthquakes have now killed nearly 1,500 people, making the disaster one of the deadliest in recent decades.

RESCUERS RACE AGAINST THE CLOCK

Search and rescue teams continued combing through collapsed buildings in the hardest-hit coastal state of La Guaira, where moments of heartbreak were punctuated by rare rescues that kept hope alive.

More than 2,600 rescue workers from around the world, assisted by trained search dogs and heavy machinery, have joined Venezuelan crews in an increasingly desperate effort to find survivors buried beneath mountains of concrete and twisted steel.

Authorities said rescue operations would continue despite experts warning that the chances of finding people alive fall sharply after the first 72 hours.

"Rescue and recovery efforts are ongoing. Today (Sunday) we have recovered people alive and, therefore, operations are not being suspended. We always maintain hope," acting President Delcy Rodrguez said while announcing the creation of a presidential commission to assess whether damaged buildings remain safe for residents.

She added that schools would stay closed for another week and that electricity had been restored to around 75% of La Guaira.

The government also acknowledged the efforts of thousands of civilian volunteers who rushed aid into the disaster zone, although authorities later restricted access to some roads, saying heavy civilian traffic was slowing emergency vehicles.

DEATH TOLL RISES AS THOUSANDS REMAIN MISSING

Assembly President Jorge Rodrguez said the official death toll had risen to 1,450 by Sunday, with 3,150 people injured, 12,721 displaced and 774 buildings destroyed.

"We are in critical hours, in crucial hours to continue rescuing lives and to build camps where those people who have lost their homes, or who cannot return, for whatever reason, to their residences can stay," he said.

The United Nations estimates that up to 6.8 million people could be affected by the disaster.

Although the government has reported hundreds of people missing or trapped, opposition-backed digital databases listed nearly 50,000 people as unaccounted for on Sunday, highlighting the confusion caused by widespread communications failures following the earthquakes.

Authorities said more than 770 buildings had either partially or completely collapsed, roughly double the number reported just two days earlier.

SURVIVAL WINDOW NARROWS

Rescue experts warned that the window for finding survivors is rapidly closing.

"There exists a window of roughly three days, 72 hours, where the probability afterwards decreases that you can save people alive," said Sebastian Eugster, who leads the Swiss rescue team.

He said his team had located several survivors using specially trained dogs but was unable to free them before conditions worsened.

Even so, rescues continued to emerge. US rescue crews pulled an infant alive from the rubble on Saturday, while Colombian rescuers saved an 11-year-old boy trapped nearly three metres beneath collapsed debris. Mexican emergency workers also rescued another 11-year-old boy from a destroyed building in Caraballeda.

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With inputs from agencies