At least 32 people were killed and around 700 others injured after powerful earthquakes struck Venezuela, acting President Delcy Rodríguez said early on Thursday.
The government had earlier declared a state of emergency.
Rescue workers searched through the rubble of collapsed buildings for numerous people believed to be trapped.
The two quakes struck within a minute of each other on Wednesday evening. The US Geological Survey (USGS) measured them at magnitudes 7.2 and 7.5.
A USGS model calculation had suggested there was a very high risk of a large number of casualties.
