A powerful aftershock has struck Venezuela, compounding the devastation of Sunday’s earthquake and heightening fears of further casualties. British search and rescue teams, deployed under a bilateral emergency agreement, are racing against time to locate survivors in the rubble of collapsed buildings in Caracas and the coastal town of La Guaira. The 5.
9 magnitude tremor, which struck at 3:12 a.m. local time, triggered landslides and brought down structures already weakened by the initial 7.
1 magnitude quake. At least 14 additional deaths have been reported, bringing the official toll to 347, with thousands injured and an estimated 50,000 displaced. The British contingent, comprising 67 specialists from the UK International Search and Rescue team, is working alongside Venezuelan civil defence units.
They have established a coordination hub at the Simón Bolívar International Airport, now operating as a logistics base for aid flights. Rescue efforts are hampered by damaged infrastructure, intermittent power outages, and the threat of further seismic activity. In a statement, the UK Foreign Secretary expressed solidarity with Venezuela, confirming the deployment of a further £5 million in emergency aid.
The focus remains on extracting survivors, with reports of at least eight people pulled alive from the debris since the aftershock. The international community is closely monitoring the situation, with offers of assistance from the United Nations and regional partners now being assessed.
