Jornal Do Brasilia - Venezuelans hunt for survivors after quakes kill at least 235

International rescuers and aid have begun arriving to help a nation struggling to respond two days after its strongest quake in well over a century struck west of Caracas.

Rubble from collapsed buildings had trapped more than 200 people under debris, National Assembly chief Jorge Rodriguez said Thursday.

At the site of one of those flattened buildings, workers used sledgehammers to break the debris and called for "absolute silence" in order to hear survivors, AFP footage showed.

Health Minister Carlos Alvarado reported the death toll had risen to at least 235, with around 4,300 people injured.

Rescue efforts have 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.

But help has begun to arrive, with a senior American military official landing in Venezuela's capital Caracas to oversee US relief efforts.

Nations around the world have pledged send rescuers, money and aid, with the United States saying it was deploying two warships, transport planes and helicopters and mobilizing $150 million in aid.

In the worst-hit state of La Guaira, north of Caracas, Amparo del Giudice dug with her bare hands at a huge mound of concrete in search of her son.

"It is a lot of rock, and with bare hands it is impossible," she said, exasperated and flailing at the rubble.

Elsewhere, a young girl died after crying out for help for hours as onlookers listened helplessly, local residents told AFP.

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

The dead include foreigners, with Two Spaniards, one Portuguese national, two Brazilians, one Italian-Venezuelan, and two Chinese nationals are among those killed.

The Spanish Ministry of Foreign Affairs also reported on Friday that 80 Spaniards remain unaccounted for.

- Global rescue teams on way -

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

Interim president Delcy Rodriguez visited La Guaira on Thursday after the area was declared a "disaster zone."

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

Venezuela's director of the International Rescue Committee, 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.

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

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

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.

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

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

Two Spaniards, two Brazilians, two Chinese, an Italian and a Portuguese citizen were among the dead, authorities in those countries said.

- Tremors felt in Colombia, Brazil -

Venezuela's northern coast sits on a boundary between the Caribbean and South American tectonic plates, but has not experienced 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.

The quake was felt in neighboring Colombia, where residents in Bogota evacuated buildings as a precaution.

Tremors were also reported in several cities in northern Brazil, according to the country's seismic monitoring network.

Scenes of panic and destruction also played out in the Venezuelan capital Caracas, where many spent the night sleeping on the streets or in their cars.

Rita Gomez, 60, travelled to the capital after seeing on social media that the building her daughter lives in had collapsed and that she was not answering her phone.

She told AFP that heavy machinery had arrived and there was "a lot of cooperation from the neighbors. We are trusting in God that they will find her alive."

P. Gomes--JDB