Rescuers comb Venezuelan quake rubble, thousands reported missing

CARACAS/LA GUAIRA/MORON, June 26 - Rescuers worked through the night on Friday to save hundreds of Venezuelans trapped in rubble and find thousands more missing after two of the biggest earthquakes in Latin America's modern history smashed areas in and around the capital Caracas.

The government said 235 dead had been taken to medical centers but did not give a total casualty estimate from the magnitude 7.2 and 7.5 tremors that struck about 160 km (100 miles) west of Caracas on Wednesday.

A website created to track missing people and shared by opposition leaders from the politically polarized nation listed 49,500 people as unaccounted for, while the U.S. Geological Survey predicted more than 10,000 deaths.

Spain's foreign ministry confirmed that two of its nationals had died with another 80 unaccounted for.

With foreign rescue teams arriving, firefighters, soldiers and distraught citizens combed through shattered buildings, some using bare hands and torches in places where power was down.

"He's under the slabs and there's no machinery to get him out," said Yamileth Jimenez of her 19-year-old son stuck in debris of their seven-story apartment building in La Guaira city on the coast outside Caracas.

Thousands are homeless in a nation already weakened by decades of economic and political turmoil that has impoverished the nation, triggered an exodus of millions, and eroded basic infrastructure and services.

Many live in flimsy hillside slums called "barrios".

"My building is uninhabitable and now I have nothing. It’s just me and my son, and I have no family in the country," said Suhayl Sarquiz, 50, who lost her job a few months ago.

"It's a tragedy," said Beatriz Rodriguez, 60, whose nephew's legs were amputated after he was crushed in the quakes. Another nephew was killed.

SLEEPING ON THE STREETS

The government confirmed 250 buildings damaged or destroyed. At least eight hospitals, the Venezuelan Red Cross and the French embassy were among buildings reported badly damaged.

La Guaira, the coastal state adjoining Caracas and home to the nation's main airport, was among the hardest-hit areas. Streams of volunteers headed down the Caracas-La Guaira highway with water, food and medicine.

"We lost everything," said Pedro Perez, 64, an upholstery workshop owner who said he had lost both his home and business and was sleeping on the street with his wife and children.

"We hope help arrives quickly."

Near the epicenter in Moron, a seaside town in Carabobo state, houses crumpled and residents had no water or electricity. Families salvaged what they could, including mattresses, televisions and washing machines.

Reuters journalists saw members of a "colectivo" — government-allied motorcycle groups long accused of harassing opposition supporters — assisting rescue efforts.

Nations around the world pledged support, even some that have opposed Venezuela during decades of international isolation, political repression and economic deterioration under the ruling Socialist Party.

Venezuela's interim President Delcy Rodriguez, who took over when the U.S. seized her ally and former leader Nicolas Maduro in January, thanked both U.S. President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin for their efforts.

Washington eased sanctions to allow earthquake aid that would otherwise be prohibited.

President Donald Trump said the U.S. was "ready, willing and able to help." U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Washington would send rescue teams while the Pentagon would help with logistics and support Caracas' damaged airport.

HELP FROM ABROAD

Rodriguez posted footage of Mexican soldiers and sniffer dogs arriving at the damaged airport at La Guaira which was open only to state and military flights.

U.N. aid chief Tom Fletcher said the organization was coordinating international rescue teams and "a massive collective effort" would be needed in a country where 8 million people required humanitarian assistance before the quake.

The U.N.'s Venezuelan human rights mission urged the government to lift restrictions on some social media, calling connectivity a "matter of life and death."

SpaceX's Starlink said it would provide free service through July 25 for new and existing customers in affected areas and was working to deploy terminals to the hardest-hit zones to help restore communications.

In the OPEC member's vital oil sector, foreign energy companies said their operations had not suffered major disruption and oil infrastructure appeared largely spared.

The Caracas Stock Exchange remained closed, turned into an aid collection centre.

Until now, the deadliest quake in Venezuela's modern history had been in 1967, killing 240 people. REUTERS