CARACAS, June 25 - At least 164 were killed and 971 injured in back-to-back powerful earthquakes in Venezuela, said its acting President Delcy Rodriguez on Thursday.
Xinhua reported that she said the earthquake had triggered about 30 aftershocks, with the government currently coordinating resources nationwide to strengthen rescue efforts in the hardest-hit areas.
Rodriguez has called on the private sector to help procure rescue equipment and supplies.
She expressed hope that improved visibility after daybreak would enable rescue workers to accelerate search-and-rescue operations.
The quakes were among the strongest to strike Venezuela in more than a century and could be felt throughout the region. Tremors were significantly far-reaching, triggering building evacuations in Brazilian cities, roughly 1,700km away from Venezuela’s capital Caracas.
