CARACAS, June 29. /Dunyo IA/. Fatalities from the twin catastrophic earthquakes in Venezuela are steadily increasing, with the current toll reaching at least 1,450 individuals, reports Dunyo IA correspondent, citing CNN.

Search-and-rescue operations continue in the cities of La Guaira and Caracas. Despite worsening forecasts, rescuers are still managing to find survivors.

Acting President of Venezuela Delcy Rodríguez said that 33 people were pulled from under the rubble over the weekend. Among those rescued were an infant, a woman who spent more than three days trapped under the rubble, as well as two 11-year-old boys who were rescued yesterday within a few hours of each other.

At the same time, tens of thousands of people remain missing, and hopes of finding more survivors are fading with each passing hour. Representatives of humanitarian organizations remind that the first 48–72 hours after a natural disaster are the most important for saving people.

Delcy Rodríguez called the event “the most brutal natural catastrophe” in Venezuela’s history and announced the creation of a commission to assess the damage. According to her, international aid and the arrival of foreign rescue teams will strengthen emergency services and help deal with the humanitarian consequences.

It should be noted that two earthquakes with magnitudes of 7.2 and 7.5 occurred on Wednesday, 39 seconds apart. As a result, nearly 800 buildings collapsed, under which people were trapped.

In many affected areas, relatives of missing people continue to clear the rubble themselves. Some reported that they can hear voices of people under the rubble, but they cannot move heavy concrete slabs without special equipment.

Photo credit: AP