LA GUAIRA, Venezuela — The rush to find survivors continues after two earthquakes shook La Guaira, Venezuela.
The quakes registered at 7.2 and 7.5. The second was the country’s most powerful quake in a century.
Update 1:49 p.m. ET, June 26: The death toll has climbed to at least 920 with another 3,360 people hurt, The Associated Press reported.
Original report: The latest death toll of 589 killed was announced Friday morning by acting President Delcy Rodriguez. She pledged to find survivors as crews from all over the world are making their way to the South American country, The Associated Press reported.
“We are going to rescue the people who are trapped. We are working tirelessly on this task,” Rodriguez said.
The U.S. military is in Venezuela and is helping with rescue efforts, CNN reported.
A team of 80 people and six dogs is being deployed from Fairfax County, Virginia, to the area. Three doctors and three structural specialists were added to the response.
“Every structure is different, and even as we’ve done our research in Venezuela, as you spoke (to) in Caracas, just because it’s in one country doesn’t mean all the buildings are built the same,” Battalion Chief Robert Schoenberger said.
But his team is ready.
“They spent years doing this. We’ve got thousands of hours every year that we train,” he said.
The number of dead is expected to rise as thousands of people are still reported as missing.
But still, dozens of people have been pulled from the rubble alive. One woman was trapped under a cement slab with only her bare foot visible. She was pulled out alive, the AP reported.
“It brings us joy that they can embrace their families and loved ones,” Rodriguez said.
But others are still waiting for their loved ones to be found.
Dayana Delgado said, “I want to know where my child is, if he’s trapped or in a shelter,” when speaking of one of her three children, her 8-year-old son.
In addition to losing loved ones, most people don’t have a place to go since their homes were destroyed, CNN reported.
©2026 Cox Media Group
