Venezuela earthquake death toll climbs over 1,400 as rescuers search
Venezuela earthquake death toll climbs over 1,400 as rescuers search
Marc Ramirez, USA TODAYSun, June 28, 2026 at 3:57 PM UTC
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Foreign rescue teams – including three from the United States – were racing time in the aftermath of twin earthquakes that rocked Venezuela's northern coast this week as the death toll from the disaster eclipsed 1,400, officials said.
The tally is expected to climb, according to U.S. Geological Survey data, which estimates more than 10,000 casualties are possible.
Delcy Rodríguez, Venezuela’s interim president, said 33 people had been rescued so far, including several children. Overnight, Rodríguez announced on X that a youngster had been pulled from the rubble in the coastal state of La Guaira with video showing rescue workers carrying him out on a stretcher.
"A few minutes ago, an 11-year-old boy was rescued alive in Caraballeda," she wrote. "At this time, every life is a source of hope for Venezuela."
But tens of thousands remain unaccounted for, with time for finding more survivors running thin.
"There exists a window of roughly three days, 72 hours, where the probability afterwards decreases that you can save people alive," Sebastian Eugster, the leader of the Swiss rescue team, told Reuters on June 27.
The two earthquakes, with magnitudes of 7.2 and 7.5, struck within one minute of each other on June 24, devastating the region.
Venezuelan officials said more than 1,600 foreign search and rescue teams were in the country with more on the way. They include elite emergency units based in Fairfax County, Virginia; Los Angeles County, California; and Miami-Dade County, Florida.
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Workers were dispatched throughout La Guaira and parts of the capital city of Caracas, where families and volunteers have spent the last few days pulling survivors and bodies from the wreckage despite a lack of heavy equipment and limited guidance from authorities.
In Caraballeda, among the areas most affected by the disaster, Reuters reported that U.S. helicopters were repeatedly ferrying rescue workers into a dusty landing zone.
On June 26, Rodríguez, whose predecessor was removed by the United States in a January raid, conferred by phone with U.S. President Donald Trump and Secretary of State Marco Rubio and said both "reaffirmed the support of the United States government at this difficult moment for Venezuela."
Venezuelan authorities on June 27 said at least 1,430 people had been killed and more than 3,200 injured in the earthquakes. More than 3,000 have been left homeless, one lawmaker said.
Pope Leo XIV on June 28 told worshippers in Rome that he wanted "to express my closeness to the Venezuelan sisters and brothers affected by the recent earthquakes" and expressed gratitude to rescue workers.
Contributing: Reuters; Jeanine Santucci, USA TODAY
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Rescue teams continue search for Venezuela earthquake survivors
Source: “AOL Breaking”
