The aftermath of two powerful earthquakes that struck on June 24 is seen in Catia La Mar, La Guaira state, Venezuela, on Saturday. The Venezuelan government said the death toll has risen to 2,954. [AFP]
The aftermath of two powerful earthquakes that struck on June 24 is seen in Catia La Mar, La Guaira state, Venezuela, on Saturday. The Venezuelan government said the death toll has risen to 2,954. [AFP]

The death toll from the powerful earthquake that struck Venezuela on June 24 is approaching 3,000. As the disaster enters its 10th day, search operations are in effect winding down, and no additional survivors have been pulled from the rubble for two consecutive days.

The Venezuelan government announced Friday that the official death toll had reached 2,954, according to AFP. That figure is 309 higher than the count of 2,645 recorded just one day earlier. The number of injured has already surpassed 16,000.

The official toll reflects only victims whose bodies have been recovered, meaning the figure is expected to climb further as debris removal continues.

International rescue teams and Venezuelan military and fire department personnel are still pressing on, but the mood at the scene has grown somber as the "golden hour" — the critical window in which survival odds are highest — has long since passed.

On Wednesday, a glimmer of hope emerged when Hernan Alberto Gil Flores, 43, a night security guard, was pulled alive from the rubble of a shopping center in Catia La Mar, La Guaira state — eight days after the quake struck. No one has been rescued since.

Authorities appear to be gradually wrapping up survivor search operations and shifting toward site clearance. But grieving families still cannot bring themselves to leave, clinging to faint hope at every small sound from beneath the rubble, foreign media reported.


attom@heraldcorp.com