The powerful twin earthquakes that shook Venezuela on Wednesday left dozens of buildings collapsed or heavily damaged in La Guaira state, according to an AFP reporter who saw at least two people dead.
Venezuela’s interim leader Delcy Rodriguez said the quakes killed at least 32 people and injured more than 700, but the toll does not include victims in the hardest-hit La Guaira area, which lies near the capital Caracas and has been designated a disaster zone.
The coastal city of Catia La Mar was without electricity, and many residents were spending the night in the streets or searching for people among the rubble, according to AFP reporters on the ground.
Some residential buildings showed large cracks and fallen walls, with dozens of others destroyed.
AFP saw a dead man and woman behind a pickup truck.
“You can see the structures as they are, like this one here that is totally collapsed,” Jose Pacheco, operations chief of the United Rescue Group of Venezuela, said, calling for “technical equipment” to help with relief efforts.
“The teams that are in Caracas who know what (tools) to use and can come help here in La Guaira, they should come, because what we need here is that human support,” Pacheco told AFP.
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