Venezuela earthquakes: frantic search for survivors continues, with 235 confirmed dead so far – latest updates

Key events A senior American military official has arrived in Venezuela’s capital Caracas to oversee US relief efforts, the US Southern Command (Southcom), whose area of responsibility covers Latin America and the Caribbean, said. US Marine Corps Maj Gen Kevin Jarrard is serving as the senior Southcom official on the ground to coordinate relief operations with local teams, Southcom said in a post on X. Rescue workers and residents in cities across northern Venezuela continue to dig through rubble in a frantic search for survivors, more than a day after the country was hit with the most powerful earthquake in over a century. At least 235 people have been killed, but authorities fear the death toll could rise significantly, with thousands reported missing. More than 4,000 people were injured in the magnitude 7.2 and 7.5 earthquakes that struck less than 40 seconds apart on Wednesday evening in the northern states near the capital, Caracas. The coastal region of La Guaira, where the country’s main airport is located, suffered some of the heaviest damage and casualties, as rows of towering apartment blocks were reduced to rubble while people desperately searched for missing loved ones. People walk amid rubble after a twin earthquake in Caraballeda, La Guaira state, Venezeula. …