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UN warns Venezuela earthquake death toll to rise as tens of thousands missing
๐Ÿ‡ท๐Ÿ‡ด Romania /Disasters & Emergencies

UN warns Venezuela earthquake death toll to rise as tens of thousands missing

From Adevฤƒrul · () Romanian

Translated from Romanian, summarized and contextualized by DistantNews.

At a glance

News Named sources Ongoing story
  • The UN's humanitarian aid chief warned that the death toll from Venezuela's double earthquake "will increase considerably" as tens of thousands remain missing.
  • Over 50,000 people are reported missing, and rescue teams from at least 17 countries are working in complex conditions amidst the threat of aftershocks.
  • Official figures vary, with Venezuela's interim president reporting 589 deaths and 2,980 injured, while the Health Minister stated over 4,300 were injured.

Tens of thousands of people are missing in Venezuela following a devastating double earthquake, with the United Nations warning that the death toll is expected to rise significantly. Tom Fletcher, head of the UN's humanitarian aid department, described the situation as an "extremely complex rescue operation."

This is an extremely complex rescue operation. Over 50,000 people are missing and over 500 have died. The search among the rubble is therefore a task of colossal importance

โ€” Tom FletcherThe UN humanitarian aid chief describing the scale of the rescue operation following the earthquakes.

"Over 50,000 people are missing and over 500 have died. The search among the rubble is therefore a task of colossal importance," Fletcher told AFP in Geneva, as reported by Agerpres. He added that rescue teams are operating under "incredibly complex conditions" due to the ongoing threat of aftershocks.

Of course. There is also the threat of aftershocks. Rescue teams are therefore operating in incredibly complex conditions

โ€” Tom FletcherThe UN humanitarian aid chief highlighting the dangerous conditions faced by rescue teams.

Rescue efforts involve teams from at least 17 countries, comprising over 1,600 urban search and rescue specialists and more than 100 rescue dogs. Drones are also being utilized to access inaccessible buildings and locate survivors. "So, this is a large-scale operation underway," Fletcher stated.

Our mission is to find as many as possible and keep the death toll as low as possible, but it will increase considerably

โ€” Tom FletcherThe UN humanitarian aid chief acknowledging the likely increase in the death toll.

Venezuela's interim president, Delcy Rodriguez, announced that the number of people killed by the earthquakes had reached 589, with 2,980 injured. However, there is an unexplained discrepancy in the reported number of injured, as the Venezuelan Health Minister, Carlos Alvarado, stated that over 4,300 people had been wounded. The magnitude 7.2 earthquake was followed just 39 seconds later by a 7.5 magnitude tremor, the strongest recorded in Venezuela since 1900. Entire buildings collapsed in Caracas and the state of La Guaira.

In the BT Arena, the anthem of Russia will not be played and the flag of Russia will not be used for the representation of athletes from this country

โ€” Emil BocThe mayor of Cluj-Napoca stating that Russian symbols will not be permitted at the Rhythmic Gymnastics World Challenge Cup.
DistantNews Editorial

Originally published by Adevฤƒrul in Romanian. Translated, summarized, and contextualized by our editorial team with added local perspective. Read our editorial standards.

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