The Government of Venezuela has raised the death toll to 235 and the number of injured to 4,300 following the 7.2 and 7.5 magnitude earthquakes that struck the country on Wednesday.
The new balance was released on Thursday night on the state network Venezolana de Televisión by Health Minister Carlos Alvarado, who indicated that the “highest number of injured and dead is in the state of La Guaira.”
The previous balance, released during the afternoon, pointed to 188 dead, 1,500 injured, and 147 missing, mostly in La Guaira, in the northern part of the country.
La Guaira borders the Caracas metropolitan region and houses the Simón Bolívar International Airport in Maiquetía, the country’s main airport, which was temporarily closed due to damage caused by the earthquakes. The minister also reported that due to the large number of patients requiring hospital care in the coastal region, field hospitals have been set up.
Read more about this topic: Venezuela: Delcy Rodríguez visits La Guaira to oversee earthquake rescue operations (with video)
Hours earlier, the interim president of Venezuela, Delcy Rodríguez, visited La Guaira accompanied by the Minister of the Interior, Diosdado Cabello, and the president of the parliament, Jorge Rodríguez. Delcy Rodríguez, who declared a state of public calamity across the entire country, stated that they hope to “rescue as many people as possible alive” from the collapsed buildings.
“We have requested international aid; the first first responders are about to land from the Dominican Republic, and more will arrive from other countries soon,” the head of state added.
Portugal and seven other European Union countries will send search and rescue teams to Venezuela.
At least six Portuguese citizens and people of Portuguese descent died in Wednesday’s earthquakes in Venezuela, according to the latest balance released on Thursday night by a source from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Two Brazilians died following the double earthquake in Venezuela, the Brazilian Government announced on Thursday, adding that it will send aid to the neighboring country.
Read more about this topic: Venezuela: Portuguese citizen killed following earthquakes
The Brazilian President, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, announced that he spoke on the phone with Delcy Rodríguez and promised to send a field hospital, as well as 36 firefighters and several technicians specialized in rescue and communication.
The aid will be delivered via two flights today and on Saturday, Lula specified on the social network X. The United States also announced on Thursday the deployment of military forces to support aid operations in Venezuela, at the request of Venezuelan authorities.
“The interim Venezuelan authorities formally requested US assistance as a result of the events,” stated the US military’s Southern Command, responsible for Latin America and the Caribbean.
The head of the command, General Francis L. Donovan, detailed that an amphibious transport dock, a littoral combat ship, transport aircraft, as well as reconnaissance platforms and helicopters have been mobilized. Furthermore, the United States authorized transactions with Venezuela on Thursday that were previously prohibited by sanctions, provided they are related to “aid efforts” following the earthquakes.
Read more about this topic: Venezuela: five Portuguese nationals missing following earthquakes (with video)
The US Department of the Treasury directive clarifies that the authorization does not include the unblocking of assets subject to sanctions. Chile, one of the countries with the highest seismic activity in the world, sent its first group of rescuers on Thursday to assist in the search for thousands of missing persons in Venezuela.
A total of 37 specialists with experience in rescue operations following earthquakes in Haiti, Ecuador, and Chile departed for Caracas on a Chilean Air Force plane. Another 10 will join them in the coming days.
