A damaged building is framed by a window of a bus carrying members of the French Civil Security Training and Intervention Regiment, who have arrived to assist with rescue operations following twin earthquakes that struck the country three days ago, in Caraballeda, Venezuela, on June 27, 2026.
| Photo Credit: AP
The death toll of Venezuela’s earthquakes rose to 1,430 on Saturday (June 27, 2026), officials said.
The latest figures were released as rescuers continued the search for survivors of the one-two punch of 7.2 and 7.5 magnitude earthquakes that devastated the South American nation three days earlier.
Families had reported at least 68,900 people missing as of Saturday morning (June 27, 2026).
Venezuelans looking for loved ones and neighbours used shovels, heavy equipment, ropes and bare hands atop mounds of toppled concrete throughout La Guaira, one of Venezuela’s hardest-hit States.
Most of those digging were civilians who took search efforts into their own hands, and tensions spiked over an inadequate response from the Venezuelan government, whose soldiers, firefighters, police and military cadets were evidently underprepared to respond to the tragedy.
‘Not alone’
Facing public outrage at the response by local officials, U.S.-backed interim Venezuelan leader Delcy Rodriguez said the country was “not alone.”
The United States said one runway at Simon Bolivar International Airport was now functioning and that C-17 U.S. military planes were landing there, while a naval ship had arrived off the coast.
The UN humanitarian agency OCHA said search-and-rescue teams from at least 17 countries were being mobilised to help find survivors.
The United Nations’ migration agency said it had examined available population and damage data and had determined that “up to 6.76 million people could be affected,” and would “require emergency shelter, safe water, sanitation and hygiene services, healthcare, protection support and essential relief items.”
National Assembly President Jorge Rodriguez reported that 1,430 dead and 3,238 people injured, while the UN estimated $6.7 billion in physical damage — equivalent to 6% of Venezuela’s GDP.
UN aid chief Tom Fletcher said on Friday (June 26, 2026) that the death toll could continue to soar, adding that more than 50,000 people were missing.
With inputs from AP, PTI
Published – June 28, 2026 12:08 am IST
