Nearly 24 hours after devastating twin earthquakes in Venezuela, people in the coastal city of La Guaira were still using their hands to dig through rubble, trying to rescue their neighbors. The government of acting President Delcy Rodriguez has confirmed nearly 200 dead and 1,520 injured.

Rescue Efforts

Residents of La Guaira, a popular spot for beachgoers and the worst-hit city in the country, and Moron, near the quakes’ epicenter, were scrambling amid limited official help. The government, which said 250 buildings had been damaged or destroyed, mainly in La Guaira, has said aid is on the way from Spain, the United States, Mexico, and Qatar and called on the private sector to lend equipment like backhoes to help with rescue efforts.

Some rubble caught fire overnight, despite a cut to domestic gas service. Terrified residents, many with nowhere else to go, huddled in the streets or peered into destroyed buildings, looking for survivors.

Hospitals Overwhelmed

The city’s Jose Maria Vargas Hospital was overflowing with injured, and some patients were being tended to outside, where police were limiting access to the building. Officials there said they had no information for journalists.

At other places in La Guaira, neighbors pulled two dead people from a house, including a little girl, and saved a mother and two children, injured but alive, from a destroyed apartment building.

Original reporting: Appleton, WI News Feed (HLL/CB) — read the source article.