Today's Edition
LA GUAIRA, VENEZUELA (AFP)
The death toll from twin earthquakes in Venezuela rose Friday to 920, with tens of thousands reported missing as international rescue teams boosted a desperate and slow-moving search for survivors.
United Nations aid chief, Tom Fletcher, told AFP that more than 50,000 people were missing after two powerful earthquakes struck within a minute of each other on Wednesday evening, flattening buildings in the north of the country.
The coastal area of La Guaira, near the capital Caracas, was the worst hit, with one building after another crumpled by the magnitude 7.2 and 7.5 quakes.
Family members, neighbours and volunteers used their bare hands to try to dig out survivors, bemoaning the lack of heavy machinery or official help to save those trapped alive.
'Very Complex'
AFP saw workers using sledgehammers to break through detritus, calling for "absolute silence" to detect cries from survivors.
"It's a very, very complex emergency response," the UN's Fletcher told AFP, warning the death toll could rise significantly.
Aftershocks and destroyed buildings still posed significant dangers.
Foreigners Killed
Those killed included 28 Portuguese nationals, five Spaniards, two Brazilians, seven Chinese nationals, one Chilean and one Italian-Venezuelan.
85 Portuguese nationals and 119 Spaniards were missing or otherwise unaccounted for, according to their respective governments.
The quakes were the most powerful to hit Venezuela since a 7.7-magnitude tremor struck offshore in 1900.
