The death toll from Venezuela's devastating twin earthquakes has climbed to at least 3,889 people, according to a government report released Thursday. National Assembly chief Jorge Rodriguez announced the updated figure on Telegram, up from 3,811 recorded earlier in the week.
The two massive tremors struck on June 24, measuring 7.2 and 7.5 in magnitude. Nearly 17,000 people sustained injuries, while almost 18,000 others lost their homes in the disaster.
Interim leader Delcy Rodriguez has called on the government to unlock Venezuelan assets held in foreign accounts to fund recovery efforts. The country desperately needs those frozen funds to rebuild after the catastrophe.
The United Nations is mounting a major fundraising push to collect roughly $300 million for Venezuela's earthquake relief and recovery operations. Venezuela is also in talks with the International Monetary Fund to access its blocked financial assets, according to IMF spokesperson Julie Kozack.
The coastal region of La Guaira bore the brunt of the damage, with over 800 buildings severely damaged and 190 structures completely destroyed. The devastation has left countless families searching through the wreckage for missing relatives.
Two weeks after the earthquakes struck, rescue teams have largely abandoned the search for survivors. But some families continue their own desperate efforts to locate loved ones trapped beneath the debris.
Ciro Ocando believes he's found the location where his two teenage sons lie buried under mountains of rubble in Playa Grande, a neighbourhood in La Guaira. His sons were aged 13 and 18 when the disaster claimed them.
"I'm in the right place, but there are a lot of obstacles," he told AFP as he dug through the wreckage using his own tools. While Ocando has accepted that his sons didn't survive, he remains determined to recover their bodies.
