At least 32 dead, more than 700 injured in Venezuela as emergency declared after powerful twin quakes

Powerful twin earthquakes that have shaken Venezuela killed at least 32 people and injured more than 700, interim president Delcy Rodriguez says.

Rodriguez has declared a state of emergency as two massive earthquakes cause buildings in the capital to crumble and force the closure of the country’s main airport, prompting US President Donald Trump to offer aid.

“At this time, we have received reports of 32 deaths” and “more than 700 injured,” Rodriguez says in an address to the nation, adding she does not yet have data on the “hardest-hit region” of La Guaira, located near the capital.

Rodriguez says 20 aftershocks followed the earthquakes of magnitude 7.2 and 7.5, which struck the same area of Venezuela, according to the United States Geological Survey.

The quakes triggered panic in the capital and drove people into the streets, AFP journalists saw.

“The stairs came away, the whole wall cracked. Things fell from the ceiling. It was horrible,” says 54-year-old bank employee Odalis Escalona.