The Venezuelan government has updated the death toll from the two earthquakes that struck the country on Wednesday night, raising the number of people confirmed killed to 1,719. The figures, released by the authorities, mark a sharp increase as more bodies are recovered and rescuers reach districts that had been cut off.
According to the latest official count, the number of injured has now passed 5,000, while almost 16,000 people have been left without a home as a result of the disaster. Officials have warned that the toll could still rise further in the coming days.
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. Families have continued to gather at collapsed buildings in the hope of news about missing relatives, while emergency teams work without pause through the debris.
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, calling out the names of loved ones in the hope of reaching anyone still trapped.
International assistance has continued to arrive 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 new figure of 1,719 dead represents a steep rise from earlier official counts as the full scale of the catastrophe becomes clearer. With thousands injured and tens of thousands displaced, authorities and aid agencies say the humanitarian needs are immense and that the final extent of the disaster may not be known for some time.