The number of people confirmed to have died in the two earthquakes that struck Venezuela on Wednesday night has risen sharply to 920, according to the latest figures. Officials have warned that the toll is likely to climb further, with around 50,000 people still listed as unaccounted for nearly two days after the disaster.
The United Nations has cautioned that the coming days will demand a massive collective effort, saying that 8 million people are already in need of aid. The scale of the destruction has stretched local emergency services far beyond their capacity, leaving rescue operations racing against time.
The two quakes hit just seconds apart in locations west of the capital, Caracas. Among the most devastated areas was the port city of La Guaira, in the coastal state of the same name just north of Caracas, where entire buildings were brought down and reduced to rubble.
Rescuers have been searching around the clock as the window to find survivors narrows. Reporting from the scene, Sky News correspondent James Matthews described a grim race against time nearly 48 hours on from the quakes, with families gathering at collapsed buildings in the hope of news about missing relatives.
With official emergency resources overwhelmed, much of the search has fallen to ordinary residents. Local people have been digging through the debris largely by hand, using pickaxes and gardening tools, shouting the names of loved ones into the rubble in the hope of reaching anyone still trapped.
International assistance has begun arriving to support the overstretched response, with foreign rescue teams joining efforts to comb the hardest-hit districts. Aid organisations and volunteers have been mobilising supplies and equipment to reach the affected areas as quickly as possible.
The figure of 920 dead marks a steep rise from earlier official counts as more bodies are recovered and damaged neighbourhoods are reached. With tens of thousands still missing, authorities and aid agencies say the full extent of the catastrophe may not be known for days.