The death toll in the back-to-back earthquakes that devastated Venezuela's northern coast on Wednesday has risen to 235, with more than 4,300 others injured, Health Minister Carlos Alvarado confirmed Thursday.
Speaking on the state-run network Venezolana de Televisión (VTV), Alvarado noted that medical teams are working around the clock.
"Within the public health system, we have treated more than 4,300 injured individuals," Alvarado said. "Tragically, this includes 235 patients who either arrived at our health facilities with no vital signs or passed away shortly after admission."
Alvarado indicated that the vast majority of casualties and severe injuries are concentrated in the coastal state of La Guaira. The northern state, which serves as the primary maritime and aerial gateway to Caracas, hosts the Simon Bolivar International Airport in Maiquetia. The terminal remains closed indefinitely due to extensive structural damage.
To cope with the overflow of trauma patients from local clinics, authorities have begun constructing makeshift field hospitals across the coastal region.
The widespread devastation stems from a rare "seismic doublet"-a phenomenon where two high-intensity tectonic events rupture almost simultaneously in the same area. On Wednesday afternoon, an initial 7.2 foreshock near San Felipe was followed just 39 seconds later by a 7.5 mainshock southeast of Yumare.
National Assembly President Jorge Rodriguez announced that seismologists have logged at least 138 aftershocks since the twin quakes. Rodriguez noted that the tremors compromised at least 346 infrastructure sites, including 250 apartment buildings and 20 shopping centers, primarily in La Guaira. Structural failures also impacted eight regional hospitals, forcing emergency personnel to rapidly evacuate patients to alternative clinics.
Many nations have bypassed diplomatic friction to deploy emergency personnel, specialized equipment, and humanitarian aid to the crisis.
The US announced the immediate deployment of military assets to assist local authorities with logistics and humanitarian relief operations, while Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva confirmed a Friday departure for a military cargo plane carrying 36 specialized search-and-rescue firefighters, civil defense experts, telecommunications technicians, and a fully equipped field hospital.
Ecuador and El Salvador are deploying specialized canine units, doctors, and tactical rescue teams.
Mexico and Chile, meanwhile, dispatched highly experienced seismic disaster response teams to aid in urban search-and-rescue.
Colombia activated its armed forces, police, Civil Defense, and risk-management units for immediate cross-border deployment, and Cuba re-tasked its permanent medical mission within Venezuela to provide frontline triage and trauma care from the onset of the disaster.
Panama, Peru, Argentina, Paraguay, Costa Rica, Guatemala, and Uruguay have also pledged emergency personnel and financial aid packages.
