Massive search-and-rescue operations were underway in Venezuela Friday as civilians and emergency workers rushed to find those trapped beneath the rubble more than a day after devastating twin earthquakes killed over 230 people.Limited time: Save 25% on NBC News subscriptionGet exclusive reporting, live Q&As and ad-free reading.At least 235 people have been killed and more than 4,300 injured after the magnitude 7.2 and 7.5 earthquakes struck west of the capital, Caracas, on Wednesday evening less than a minute apart.
They were among the strongest to hit Venezuela in more than a century, sending tremors across much of the country and neighboring areas.Television footage showed emergency workers rescuing injured people and animals from collapsed buildings.
Many were covered in dust and blood as distraught relatives cried out for loved ones and others frantically searched for survivors.Search efforts in La Guaira, Venezuela on Thursday.Jesus Vargas / Getty ImagesJorge Rodríguez, president of Venezuela’s National Assembly, said late Thursday that about 200 people remained trapped beneath collapsed buildings, while around 250 structures had been damaged or destroyed.
Nelson Ospedales felt the earthquakes from his home in Caracas’ Altamira neighborhood.“Material possessions can be recovered, but at this moment, the competent authorities — such as firefighters and civil defense — have been completely overwhelmed.They need more personnel,” Ospedales told Noticias Telemundo in Spanish.
“Hospitals have become severely congested.”Ospedales house partially collapsed in the quakes and he’s now staying with a relative, he said.Hospitals had reached capacity by Thursday evening as the country’s health system struggled to cope with the influx of patients, Health Minister Carlos Alvarado said on state television.President Delcy Rodríguez declared a state of emergency following the earthquakes, ordering the closure of Caracas’ international airport, s...