As reported by Reuters, the number of missing persons rose to 40,567, according to an unofficial but commonly used list.
The number of victims of last week’s earthquake in Venezuela has officially increased to 2,295, the speaker of the country’s parliament, Jorge Rodríguez, announced on Wednesday. More than 11,000 others were injured, writes TASR based on reports from AFP and Reuters.
Interim Venezuelan President Delcy Rodríguez earlier declared seven days of national mourning for the victims of the earthquake. “Venezuela’s soul is torn apart by the human losses caused by the devastating earthquake,” she wrote on Telegram. According to her, the seven-day state mourning will begin on Wednesday at 18:00 local time (Thursday 00:00 CET).
Missing persons and UN preparations
Reuters reports that according to an unofficial but widely used list, 40,567 people are missing. The United Nations said this week that it is procuring 10,000 body bags for Venezuela. This roughly indicates the expected total number of casualties.
Two consecutive earthquakes with a magnitude of 7.2 and 7.5 struck Venezuela on Thursday night. The northern state of La Guaira and the coastal area north of Caracas experienced the greatest damage. 189 buildings completely collapsed.
Rescuers from different parts of the world come to help the South American country. A Slovak rescue team consisting of 15 members of the Fire and Rescue Service, five members of the Mountain Rescue Service and four search dogs also flew to Venezuela.
