Venezuela earthquakes kill 920 people as international rescue teams arrive

Figure caption, 'They are all I have': Mother searches for missing daughtersByTom McArthurPublished26 June 2026Updated 9 minutes agoMore than 900 people have been killed and 3,360 others injured in the Venezuela earthquakes, according to the government, as rescuers keep searching for survivors and families wait desperately for news.The injured are being treated in makeshift medical facilities after dozens of buildings in the country's north were destroyed by the two quakes, including in the capital Caracas.A senior government official said hundreds of international rescue workers have arrived in the country, with more on the way.

Two powerful earthquakes rocked Venezuela within seconds of each other on Wednesday. The second quake was one of the strongest tremors to hit the country in a century, at a magnitude of 7.5.

Devastating images from the Venezuelan earthquake'I thought I was going to die' - Venezuelans describe earthquake panicPublished1 day agoVenezuela earthquakes in maps and graphics - where they hit and how severe they could bePublished1 day agoLa Guaira, a region north of the capital, has been hit the hardest, officials said. The state is also home to one of the country's two main ports and to Simón Bolívar International Airport in Maiquetía - the country's main airport.Many people are missing, and it is likely the death toll will rise as rescue efforts continue.

In La Guaira, Natacha Diaz told the BBC that her two daughters - aged 22 and 23 - were trapped under the rubble of a collapsed shopping centre, where they worked as manicurists."They were with their friends," she said. "I just want them to be found.

I have faith and hope that they are there.""I just want them back with me. They are all I have, please."

National assembly head Jorge Rodriguez said in a state TV broadcast on Friday that the death toll had reached 920, with at least 172 people still believed to be trapped.In La Guaira alone, at least 243 people have been rescued, the top lawmaker - who is the interim president's brother - said.Dozens of people have been rescued alive, which "brings us joy that they can embrace their families and loved ones", Acting President Delcy Rodríguez said at a televised briefing on Friday.

There have been 214 aftershocks since the initial quakes, she added.Hundreds of buildings have been damaged or destroyed, including a number of hospitals and shopping centres, Jorge Rodríguez said, adding that at least 1,000 other infrastructure sites have also been damaged.Surviving medical facilities are said to be overwhelmed, with medics telling the BBC that even before the disaster it was difficult to treat patients."

All our hospitals lack supplies, lack medicines, we are not able to provide medical attention to our people in a normal day," doctor Pedro Javier Fernandez said."Now with this tragedy, the emergency is even bigger and it's more difficult to face than in other countries," he added.Image source, ReutersImage caption, Hundreds of people are still feared to be trapped under the rubbleThere are reports of rescuers pulling people out of collapsed buildings with their bare hands, as disrupted communications, damaged roads, and a lack of resources made the initial emergency response difficult.

A UK military flight carrying British search and rescue teams, dogs and drones left RAF Brize Norton in Oxfordshire on Friday, bound for Venezuela.The flight is carrying specialists from 14 UK fire services, led by Merseyside Fire and Rescue.Other countries, including the United States, the Netherlands, Mexico and Switzerland have sent teams.

The US has also announced the deployment of warships and transport planes as well as $150m (£113m) in aid.A BBC reporter in Caraballeda, in La Guaira state, has seen heavy machinery arrive to begin the task of removing rubble.Image source, Getty ImagesImage caption, Volunteers lift a metal gate as they search through debris on the rubble of collapsed buildings in Catia La MarInternational rescue workers already on the ground have seen "horrific damage", the secretary general of the Norwegian Refugee Council said.

Venezuela was ill-prepared and vulnerable in an emergency situation because of its already "crumbling infrastructure" following decades of underinvestment, Jan Egeland told the BBC.Venezuela has experienced more than a decade of intense economic crisis, which has led to deteriorated living standards in the oil-rich country.Earlier, the UN's humanitarian chief Tom Fletcher said the disaster "needs an international global response and we'll co-ordinate that and we will deliver"."

I want people to know in Venezuela that help is coming," he said.Image source, ReutersImage caption, Military personnel are distributing aid to the areas worst hitOne case that boosted morale across Venezuela is the rescue in La Guaira of three young siblings, who emerged from the rubble covered in dust and debris, footage broadcast on state television showed."Come here, my child, come here," a man say