Swapna Kumbar , Bengaluru - The death toll from the twin earthquakes that hit Venezuela has risen to 589, with 2,980 people injured, acting President Delcy Rodríguez said as rescue operations entered another urgent phase. Officials warned that the number could still climb sharply because tens of thousands remain unaccounted for and many people are believed to be trapped under collapsed buildings.

Rodríguez said emergency crews are racing to pull survivors from the rubble, while international rescue teams from at least 17 countries have begun arriving to support the search effort. The quakes, measuring 7.2 and 7.5, struck the coast west of Caracas and caused widespread destruction in northern Venezuela, where entire neighbourhoods were flattened, roads were cut off and hospitals were overwhelmed by the surge of casualties. A missing-persons website set up by opposition figures listed as many as 49,500 people as unaccounted for, underscoring the scale of the crisis and the uncertainty surrounding the final toll.

The United States, Mexico and several other countries have offered search-and-rescue support, medical assistance and logistics as the region mobilises around the disaster. U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said American teams were being deployed to help with digging through collapsed structures, while overhead imagery was also being provided to assess damage in coastal zones. Spain confirmed that two of its nationals were among the dead, and other foreign governments said their citizens were still missing, adding an international dimension to an already severe humanitarian emergency.

With casualties still rising and thousands of families awaiting news of missing relatives, Venezuela is facing one of the deadliest earthquake disasters in its modern history. The coming hours will be critical as rescuers race against time to save those still trapped and to determine the true scale of the catastrophe.