The death toll from Venezuela's twin devastating earthquakes climbed to at least 589, with nearly 3,000 people injured, as residents and rescue teams worked through collapsed buildings searching for survivors, authorities said on June 26.

Acting President Delcy Rodríguez announced the latest figures early in the morning, flanked by government and military officials as international rescue crews continued arriving in the country, AP reported. "We are going to rescue the people who are trapped," she said. "We are working tirelessly on this task."

The toll has risen sharply since the earthquakes first struck at around 6:04 p.m. local time on June 24: Rodríguez had put the number of dead at 32 in the hours immediately after the quakes, before raising it to 188 on June 25, and then to 589 today, with the number of injured updated to 2,980. Authorities have warned the figures are likely to keep climbing, with thousands of people still listed as missing.

Separately, they said roughly 40,000 people remained unaccounted for nationwide, according to the latest estimates.

Rodríguez said La Guaira state had suffered the worst damage from the 7.2 and 7.5 magnitude quakes, and that the area had been placed under military control as crews searched for survivors and distributed food and water. She said dozens of people had already been pulled from the rubble. "It brings us joy that they can embrace their families and loved ones," she said.

Rodríguez tours damage in La Guaira

Rodríguez travelled to La Guaira on June 25 to oversee the rescue effort in person, visiting the coastal town of Macuto, one of the worst-hit areas, where dozens of buildings collapsed with families still trapped inside, Xinhua reported. She said Civil Protection units and other agencies under the National Risk Management System were working at full capacity.

"We are in Macuto, in the state of La Guaira, accompanying our people in the search and rescue of those who were trapped by structures and buildings that collapsed due to the double earthquake we had yesterday," she told state television. Clearing heavy debris remained the most urgent task in order to speed up rescue operations, she said.

"We are supporting the families, extending our solidarity, and we hope to recover as many people alive as possible," she said, adding that international assistance was imminent. "The first rescuers from the Dominican Republic are about to land, and more will arrive in the coming hours from other countries and the international community."

State television broadcast images of rescuers freeing survivors trapped under debris, including a woman pulled alive from beneath a concrete slab after only her foot remained visible to rescue crews. Many of those rescued were covered in dust and blood, among them children.

The International Organization for Migration estimated that as many as 6.76mn people across Venezuela could be affected by the disaster, including roughly 2mn in Caracas alone, AP reported.

A shaken capital, a government under pressure

Streets in the capital cracked open and buildings were reduced to shells overnight, with furniture left dangling from shattered windows as helicopters circled above. Hundreds of people spent the night in parks and parking lots rather than return indoors. Families posted missing-person notices around the city, while disrupted phone networks made it harder for relatives abroad to learn whether loved ones were safe.

Authorities have redirected rescue resources toward La Guaira, a region with painful precedent: a 1999 mudslide there killed thousands and remains one of Venezuela's deadliest disasters.

The earthquakes present a fresh test for Rodríguez, who became acting president in January after the capture of Nicolás Maduro by US special forces, and whose Washington-backed government continues to face questions over its legitimacy amid the country's prolonged economic crisis. She has announced a $200mn fund to rebuild damaged hospitals and homes.

Restrictions on the X social network were also eased this week, restoring Venezuelans' access to a platform that had been blocked since August 2024, when then-president Maduro moved to curb dissent following his disputed re-election claim. The change came after UN officials in the country pressed the government to ease social-media curbs, arguing that the free flow of information could prove lifesaving during the disaster response.

Hospitals strained, oil sector spared

A staff member at Hospital de Clínicas in Caracas said employees had been asked to work extended night shifts to cope with the influx of injured patients. With authorities still assessing the scale of the damage, schools across the country were told classes would not resume before the following week.

Venezuela's key oil sector appeared for now largely unaffected by the tremors, based on initial reports. In Maracaibo, near the Lake Maracaibo oil hub, civil protection officials said no injuries had been recorded, and an employee at the El Palito refinery, close to the quakes' epicentre near Morón, reported no damage to the facility.

Foreign nationals among the dead and missing

Spain confirmed that four of its citizens had died in the disaster, after a body found in the rubble of a collapsed building in La Guaira was identified as a Spanish woman who had been reported missing. Spanish Foreign Minister José Manuel Albares said a further 99 Spanish nationals remained unaccounted for, with four more believed to be trapped under rubble that rescue crews were working to reach, AFP reported. A Spanish military aircraft carrying rescue personnel landed in Venezuela on on June 26.

Italy's foreign ministry said one Italian-Venezuelan dual national had died, identified as a man born in Caracas in 1970 with relatives in Italy, killed when a building collapsed in La Guaira. Officials said they were checking on the status of several other Italians who could not be reached, particularly in La Guaira, where Italy has a large expatriate community, SkyTG24 reported.

Rome said it was deploying a relief mission, including Civil Protection personnel, search-and-rescue firefighters and a medical team, to assist Venezuelan authorities.

International rescue effort expands

The disaster has triggered one of the broadest international relief mobilisations in the region in years. The UN said roughly 1,000 emergency responders from 25 search-and-rescue teams worldwide were being deployed to Venezuela, according to Jens Laerke, a spokesperson for the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who spoke directly with Rodríguez, said Washington's response would be extensive, though he noted that coordinating aid would be complicated by the shutdown of Venezuela's main airport, which was severely damaged by the quakes. "We have a whole-of-government response," he said. "It'll be big; it'll be fast; and it'll be effective."

More than 150 rescuers from El Salvador landed in Venezuela early on June 26, part of a pledged contingent of 300 rescue and paramedic personnel along with 50 tonnes of medical supplies, President Nayib Bukele said. Mexico said it would send an initial 250 personnel, five search dogs, four aircraft, a drone and additional medical equipment. A 48-member German federal disaster-response team also arrived, while Colombia's national disaster agency said it had deployed an urban search-and-rescue team of more than 60 people, four canine units and 12 tonnes of equipment, including nine firefighters from Cali.

Rescue teams and equipment — including search dogs and ground-penetrating radar — have also arrived from Spain, Chile and Switzerland, while Turkey said it was sending two flights of rescuers and dogs from Istanbul. China, Qatar, Brazil, Portugal and Canada have pledged further assistance, and rescuers from the Dominican Republic arrived earlier in the week.

“We will send [on June 26 morning] a humanitarian search and urban rescue mission in a KC-390 plane,” Brazilian President Lula da Silva said on X, adding that more help would be on the way the next day. “With them, we are sending nine tonnes of equipment to help.”

A Chinese foreign minister spokesperson said that Beijing’s authorities are maintaining close communication with the country’s embassy in Venezuela and confirmed that no casualties among Chinese citizens had been reported so far.

The relief effort builds on a wave of international support that began within hours of the quakes. Argentina dispatched an emergency mission coordinated by Chief of Staff Manuel Adorni, while Canada assembled humanitarian aid and Prime Minister Mark Carney offered condolences to victims' families. Chile sent rescue units after President José Antonio Kast spoke directly with Rodríguez, and Colombia placed its civil defence and military disaster-response network on standby.

Even countries without diplomatic ties to Caracas stepped in: Ecuador pledged humanitarian aid despite the absence of formal relations, citing the scale of the catastrophe. The Netherlands deployed an urban search-and-rescue mission and pledged up to €2mn in support.

Beyond government aid, members of the 8 million-strong Venezuelan diaspora and humanitarian groups around the world have organised collection drives for food, water, hygiene products and medical supplies as the search for survivors continues.