The death toll from the back-to-back earthquakes that hit Venezuela has jumped to 589, with 2,980 people injured, acting President Delcy Rodríguez said on Friday.
Two powerful earthquakes with magnitudes of 7.2 and 7.5 shook northern and central Venezuela on Wednesday evening, just 39 seconds apart.
The damage is particularly widespread in the state of La Guaira on the Caribbean coast, but buildings also collapsed in the capital, Caracas, and in other regions.
With rescue operations ongoing, authorities fear that scores more people could still be trapped under the rubble. International aid teams are deploying to the South American country to assist with search efforts.
Late on Thursday, the Health Ministry had put the death toll at 235.
