Desperate Venezuelans battled on Thursday to rescue loved ones trapped alive beneath the rubble of collapsed buildings after two major earthquakes that killed at least 188 people.

The Chinese Embassy in Venezuela said two Chinese nationals have been confirmed dead as of 4 pm local time on Thursday.

Buildings cracked, crumbled, and tilted precariously after the quakes, which the United States Geological Survey measured at magnitudes 7.2 and 7.5, hit northern Venezuela within less than a minute of each other on Wednesday night.

Powerful aftershocks could still be felt on Thursday as National Assembly chief Jorge Rodriguez said the death toll had risen to 188, with 1,520 injured.

He said 250 buildings were damaged or destroyed, leaving nearly 3,000 families homeless.

Rescue efforts moved slowly, with bodies still visible under debris hours after the quakes, while time ran out for some of those who were trapped and injured.

The worst-affected area, La Guaira state, near Caracas, "has become a disaster zone," acting President Delcy Rodriguez said, adding that her government was working with businesses to deploy heavy machinery to accelerate rescue efforts. Electricity in the state was scarce on Thursday.

Residents there listened helplessly as a young girl cried out for help for hours.

"We need people..., military personnel, to come and help so we can get her out," said resident Dani Rizo, 48.

Not long after, the girl died, locals told the media.

Elsewhere in La Guaira, three people could be heard in the rubble of a collapsed building.

"They're still alive... There's nothing more we can do," said one resident, Antonio Bermudez. "We don't have any tools. We have no way to help."

A doctor at the Domingo Luciani Hospital in the city, speaking on condition of anonymity, said children were arriving in ambulances alone after being pulled out of the rubble.

"Some children provide their names, while others arrive with identification tape on their arms," he said.

A rescue worker, speaking off the record, told AFP that conditions were precarious, with a shortage of trained personal and significant technical limitations.

AFP reporters witnessed residents looting a local supermarket in the city.

Venezuela's director of the International Rescue Committee (IRC), Nicole Kast, described the situation as "catastrophic."

Offers of support poured in from around the world, with Switzerland, Spain, France, Portugal and Mexico among those sending specialists and rescue teams to Venezuela.

China, India, Brazil and even war-battered Iran offered help, while Pope Leo XIV has sent an initial 100,000 euros in aid to the country.

The United States said it was mobilizing US$150 million in aid.

"We have a whole-of-government response. It'll be big, it'll be fast, and it'll be effective," said US Secretary of State Marco Rubio.

Washington is closely involved in oil-rich Venezuela after US forces ousted and arrested president Nicolas Maduro in January.

UN chief Antonio Guterres said he was "deeply saddened" by the disaster as the global body vowed to assist Venezuela.

The strongest quake to hit Venezuela in 126 years will require "massive collective efforts," UN aid chief Tom Fletcher said in a statement.

Threatening to complicate relief efforts, the international airport is in La Guaira and has been closed after suffering serious damage.

Venezuela's northern coast sits on a boundary between the Caribbean and South American tectonic plates, but has not suffered a significant quake since 1997, when 73 people died.

Another quake in 1967 killed 236 people.

Wednesday's 7.5-magnitude earthquake was the most powerful since October 29, 1900, when a 7.7-magnitude tremor struck offshore. (AFP, Xinhua)



Edited by Cecil Wong