Rescue teams from across the Americas and Europe continued searching through collapsed buildings in northern Venezuela on Friday as the death toll from the country's twin earthquakes rose to at least 920, with thousands of people still unaccounted for and hopes of finding more survivors fading.
According to Reuters, authorities said at least 920 people have been killed, 3,360 injured, while 172 people remain trapped beneath collapsed structures after the powerful 7.2- and 7.5-magnitude earthquakes struck on Wednesday.
The news agency reported that an online registry set up by relatives and volunteers has received reports of more than 50,000 missing people, although officials have not verified those figures.
The earthquakes, the strongest to hit Venezuela in more than a century, caused widespread destruction across Caracas, La Guaira and nearby areas, flattening apartment buildings, damaging roads and hospitals, and leaving thousands homeless.
Reuters reported that a 4.9-magnitude aftershock shook the affected region on Friday, forcing rescue workers to temporarily halt operations at some sites as unstable buildings posed fresh risks.
The Associated Press reported that rescue efforts have increasingly relied on local residents, many of whom have spent hours digging through rubble with shovels, pickaxes and their bare hands while waiting for heavy equipment to arrive.
Families gathered outside collapsed buildings hoping rescuers would locate missing relatives, as hospitals struggled to cope with the growing number of casualties.
International assistance has expanded rapidly as the scale of the disaster became clearer. According to Reuters, specialized urban search-and-rescue teams from the United States, Mexico, Colombia, Switzerland and several other countries have joined Venezuelan emergency personnel, deploying drones, thermal imaging equipment, sniffer dogs and heavy machinery to search for survivors.
Humanitarian aid, including medical supplies, food, water and temporary shelters, has also begun arriving in the worst-hit communities.
The New York Times, in its live coverage of the disaster, reported that emergency crews remain engaged in a race against time as the critical window for locating survivors narrows.
The newspaper said hospitals remain overwhelmed, emergency shelters continue to fill with displaced residents, and thousands of people are spending nights outdoors because of persistent aftershocks and fears of additional building collapses.
Reuters reported that while Venezuela's major oil facilities escaped significant damage, the destruction of homes, schools and public infrastructure is expected to leave millions in need of assistance.
United Nations officials have warned that the final death toll could rise substantially as rescue teams continue clearing debris across the country's devastated northern region.