Aftershock hits Caracas during critical hours for Venezuela rescue efforts

Tens of thousands remain missing after the devastating twin earthquakes that hit Venezuela last week.

Officials in Venezuela have announced that the confirmed death toll following a pair of powerful earthquakes that struck the northwest of the country last week has increased to 1,719, as rescue efforts continue for thousands who remain missing or trapped beneath the rubble.

Jorge Rodriguez, the leader of the Venezuelan National Assembly, stated in an address on state television on Monday that the number of injured had risen to 5,034 and that 15,866 were now homeless after the back-to-back magnitude 7.2 and 7.5 earthquakes.

A strong aftershock also jolted Venezuela earlier on Monday during a crucial period for search and rescue efforts, with the United States Geological Survey (USGS) registering a 4.6-magnitude aftershock at a depth of 10 kilometres (six miles), with the epicentre north of Caraballeda on Venezuela’s Caribbean coast.

Rodriguez stated that there were no immediate reports of additional damage.

“Here we are again, back in the street. I don’t know when we’ll have a moment of true peace,” Concepcion Hernandez, 51, told The Associated Press news agency, as she evacuated her apartment building in the Chacao municipality of Caracas after the new tremor.

International and local rescue efforts have been racing against time and focusing on the northern port city of La Guaira, the hardest-hit area of the country embroiled in a long-running political and economic crisis.

Officials believe that tens of thousands of people are still missing as rescue efforts continue, involving some 30,000 Venezuelan emergency workers and 2,700 foreign experts.

The critical 72-hour window for rescuing trapped victims after a natural disaster passed on Saturday evening. However, a handful of rescues on Sunday offered glimmers of hope. Survival can be extended if people have access to food and water.

“Today we have recovered people alive and, therefore, operations are not being suspended. We always maintain hope,” interim President Delcy Rodriguez said on Sunday.

Venezuelan authorities say they’ve received support from 24 countries, which have sent more than 500 tonnes of supplies, 2,700 rescue and support personnel and about 86 ⁠⁠teams with search dogs.

Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele shared the story of a rescue of 21-year-old Aaron Levi in a collapsed building in La Guaira, writing on X: “This rescue was made possible thanks to the ‌‌coordinated efforts of rescue teams from Venezuela, Mexico, and El Salvador.”

Venezuela’s president said Levi had spent 106 hours buried under rubble.

Reporting from Catia La Mar in La Guaira, Al Jazeera’s Teresa Bo said on Sunday that family members had marked several collapsed homes where they were unable to recover the bodies of their loved ones.

“The relatives are waiting for them outside for their bodies to be retrieved,” Bo said.

She added that aid, including water and food, had only just started to reach the hardest-hit areas, where many residents continued to camp outside.

Bo described the disaster as a major test both for the international community and for the new government of Rodriguez, who assumed the presidency after the US military’s abduction of former President Nicolas Maduro in January.