The death toll following the powerful twin earthquakes that struck northern Venezuela last Wednesday has risen to at least 1,450, according to the President of the Venezuelan National Assembly, Jorge Rodríguez.
“In today’s bulletin, we report that the death toll from the most brutal natural disaster our country has ever suffered has reached 1,450 people,” Rodríguez announced in a televised address broadcast by the state channel VTV.
The previous official update issued by Venezuelan authorities had placed the toll at 1,430 fatalities.
Among the dead are at least 51 Portuguese citizens and people of Portuguese descent, with another 84 reported missing or unreachable.
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Several countries, including Portugal and other European Union member states, have deployed specialized search and rescue teams to Venezuela to assist in the emergency response.
The two massive earthquakes struck approximately 200 kilometers from the capital city of Caracas, occurring less than a minute apart, and have since been followed by more than 20 aftershocks, according to data from the United States Geological Survey (USGS).
Dozens of buildings completely collapsed or sustained severe structural damage in Caracas and across the coastal region of La Guaira, which remains one of the worst-affected areas in the country.
