Over 50,000 Missing After Earthquakes in Venezuela As Deaths Hit 589

Over 50,000 people are missing following consecutive earthquakes in Venezuela, the United Nations' aid chief told AFP Friday, warning that the death toll was likely to "rise significantly."

"It's a very, very complex emergency response," said UN Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator Tom Fletcher, adding: "We've got over 50,000 people missing, over 500 people dead, so a massive job to go through the rubble".

The confirmed death toll has soared to 589, exposing the severe limitations of domestic rescue operations in a country already depleted by years of economic collapse.

Pro-U.S. interim president Delcy Rodriguez confirmed the rising fatality count on Friday. Authorities have also documented nearly 3,000 injuries across the affected zones.

An online portal tracking unaccounted individuals registered nearly 50,000 names as desperate relatives flooded social media with requests for information.

The 7.2 and 7.5 magnitude tremors struck the northern coast within a minute of each other on Wednesday night.

Desperate Rescue Operations

Rescue teams face significant logistical hurdles in the worst-hit areas north of Caracas.

Emergency workers and volunteers are using bare hands and sledgehammers to dig through the rubble of flattened buildings.

National Assembly President Jorge Rodriguez stated on Thursday that over 200 people were confirmed trapped alive.

Families at the disaster sites have demanded heavy machinery, reporting that they can hear trapped loved ones calling out from beneath collapsed structures.

Residents have criticized the domestic response as inadequate. Local citizens pointed to a lack of military deployment and necessary excavation equipment, while isolated incidents of looting were observed at a supermarket in the heavily damaged region of La Guaira.

International Intervention

Global aid has begun arriving to supplement the strained local resources. Rescue contingents from Spain, El Salvador, Switzerland, Colombia, and Mexico are currently on the ground.

The UN humanitarian agency OCHA is mobilizing search-and-rescue units from at least 17 countries. A senior U.S. military official has landed in Caracas to coordinate Washington's relief strategy.

The U.S. government announced the deployment of two warships, transport aircraft, and helicopters.

Washington has also suspended economic sanctions for four months and pledged $150 million to facilitate the humanitarian intervention.