LA GUAIRA (VENEZUELA), JUN 25 (AP): Venezuelans searched for survivors beneath collapsed buildings Thursday and rescue teams raced to northern areas rocked by a pair of powerful earthquakes that officials say killed at least 188 people and left more than 200 trapped. Many more were feared dead.
7.2- and 7.5-magnitude earthquakes that struck Wednesday evening were among the strongest in Venezuela in more than a century and were felt throughout the region. Some 1,500 people were injured and thousands were reported missing across the country. The coastal region of La Guaira, which is north of the capital, Caracas, experienced some of the heaviest damage and casualties, officials said.
Buildings were evacuated as far away as Brazil’s Amazon, about 1,700km from Caracas, where the country’s main airport was damaged and closed.
In cities across northern Venezuela, panicked residents poured into streets and many walked among the debris searching for the missing. Television broadcasts showed rescue workers using power tools to get through piles of rubble.
Offers of help poured in from around the world, including from the United States, which seized Venezuela’s then-president Nicolas Maduro at the beginning of the year.
