Venezuela earthquakes kill 188 as La Guaira rescue race intensifies

Caracas,UPDATED: Jun 25, 2026 23:50 IST

Venezuelans searched through collapsed buildings on Thursday and rescue teams were rushed to the country’s northern coast after two powerful earthquakes killed at least 188 people, injured about 1,500 and left more than 200 trapped. Thousands were also reported missing, and officials said many more deaths were feared.

The 7.2- and 7.5-magnitude quakes struck on Wednesday evening and were among the strongest to hit Venezuela in more than a century. The tremors were felt across the region, damaged the main airport in Caracas and forced evacuations as far away as Brazil’s Amazon, about 1,700 kilometres from the Venezuelan capital.

Officials said the coastal region of La Guaira, north of Caracas, suffered some of the worst damage and casualties. In cities across northern Venezuela, frightened residents ran into the streets and later searched through debris for missing relatives and neighbours. Television footage showed rescue workers using power tools to cut through piles of rubble.

In La Guaira, retired schoolteacher Juan Alberto Mendao climbed through wreckage and past a dead body when he saw a trapped woman signalling for help with her hand. “God, let them rescue her as quickly as possible,” Mendao said. “When we heard the scream, there was nothing we could do.” At another damaged apartment complex, residents shouted the names of missing people: “Mirna! Marquitos!”

Offers of help came from around the world, including from the United States, which had seized Venezuela’s then-president Nicolas Maduro at the start of the year in a surprise military operation. The disaster has become a major test for acting President Delcy Rodrguez, the former vice president who took office in January after Maduro’s capture. Venezuela has been dealing with economic turmoil for more than a decade, and many people reject the legitimacy of the political movement Rodrguez represents.

Assembly president Jorge Rodriguez gave updated figures on Thursday for the number of dead, injured and trapped. Delcy Rodrguez said rescue teams were being moved from other parts of the country to La Guaira, which she called a “disaster zone”. “Dozens of buildings have collapsed there ... and we are currently carrying out intensive rescue operations to save lives,” she said. Footage on state television showed three children, covered in dust but alive, being pulled from rubble in La Guaira.

Rodrguez appealed to businesses to provide heavy construction equipment for rescue work and said United Nations-certified search and rescue teams were on their way to help. Officials also urged people to remain outdoors because aftershocks could cause more damage.

According to the US Geological Survey, the first quake, of magnitude 7.2, struck west of Moron on the Caribbean coast, about 170 kilometres west of Caracas, at a depth of 22 kilometres. One minute later, a second quake of magnitude 7.5 hit at a depth of 10 kilometres, with its epicentre 16 kilometres south-west of Moron. While Venezuela lies near several fault lines, its location across the South American and Caribbean plates means quakes of this strength are less common than in other parts of Latin America.

Residents described scenes of chaos as buildings swayed and people ran for safety. On Thursday morning, many looked on in shock at buildings reduced to shells, furniture hanging from windows and helicopters circling overhead. In La Guaira, Cristian Carreo stood looking at his charred apartment building, which was leaning to one side. “I lost everything,” he said. “There are people still inside, I imagine, that couldn’t get out. It’s incredibly devastating.”

Dayana Delgado, the mother of three children, said she was desperate because her eight-year-old son was missing. “I want to know where my child is, if he’s trapped or in a shelter,” she said. Delgado also asked where the heavy machinery promised by government officials was, saying neighbours were the ones digging through the rubble.

Authorities warned people not to return to homes with structural damage. In central Caracas, hundreds spent the night in parks, parking lots and other open spaces. “We were afraid the buildings would collapse on us,” said Mara Cristina Daz, a 41-year-old janitor. “My mother, my daughter and I were cold. We didn’t sleep a wink.” She added, “It was awful. We cried, we screamed. Thankfully, we’re alive.”

Rodrguez said parts of the capital lost electricity and mobile phone service. Metro services were suspended and natural gas supplies were shut off. Classes were also cancelled for several days, and the Education Ministry said some school buildings would be used as shelters and donation centres.

Families put up missing-person notices with photographs of loved ones, while others circulated handwritten lists of names as they searched for those still unaccounted for. Venezuelans living abroad struggled to reach relatives. The UN human rights mission in Venezuela called on the government to remove local restrictions on social media so people could get more timely access to potentially life-saving information. In August 2024, Maduro ordered X to be blocked in an attempt to stop the exchange of information among those who rejected his claim of victory in the July presidential election.

Late on Wednesday, Rodrguez declared a state of emergency in a national address. She said the government was setting up a USD 200 million reconstruction fund for hospitals and homes damaged in the quakes, and had told the economy and finance ministers to oversee the effort. Countries from Qatar to Mexico began sending aid, and Rodrguez thanked governments for their support and offers of help.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who said he had spoken to Rodrguez after the quake, said Washington was “immediately deploying search and rescue teams, medical resources, and humanitarian assistance to Venezuela”. “We will have a whole government response,” Rubio said on Thursday in Bahrain, adding that logistical problems remained because Caracas’ airport had collapsed. “It will be big. It will be fast. It will be effective.”

As rescue efforts continued, Venezuela faced a growing humanitarian emergency, with hundreds feared trapped, thousands missing and entire neighbourhoods damaged by one of the strongest earthquakes the country has experienced in more than 100 years.

With PTI Inputs

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