Venezuela quake death toll nears 1,500 as rescue work continues

4.6-magnitude aftershock adds to fears for safety of buildings weakened by tremors

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Hopes were fading on June 29 of finding survivors more than four days after powerful twin earthquakes struck Venezuela, as residents grow increasingly frustrated with the government’s response to the disaster that has killed at least 1,450 people and left tens of thousands unaccounted for.

A strong aftershock was felt in the hardest-hit areas of the capital Caracas and La Guaira shortly after 7am on June 29, which the US Geological Survey measured at magnitude 4.6, adding to fears for the safety of hundreds of buildings weakened by the tremors.

No damage was immediately reported from the aftershock, the president of the National Assembly, Jorge Rodriguez, said on social media.

Foreign rescue teams have poured into La Guaira, the hardest-hit state of a country already mired in a deep political and economic crisis.

Dozens of buildings collapsed into piles of sand and rubble in the coastal state, about 40km north of Caracas.

“Rescue and recovery efforts are ongoing. Today, we have recovered people alive and, therefore, operations are not being suspended. We always maintain hope,” said interim President Delcy Rodriguez on June 28, after announcing a presidential commission that would determine the habitability of buildings.

Flanked by several of her ministers, she said school classes would be suspended for one more week and that the electricity supply in La Guaira had been restored to 75 per cent.