Thousands feared dead after Venezuela quakes

Fanny Nasri waits at the site of a collapsed building as emergency workers search for her son, Antonio Nasri, alongside Noemi Cordoba, who awaits news of her granddaughter, after an earthquake in Caracas, on June 25, 2026. (Photo: Reuters)

CARACAS - Thousands of Venezuelans were feared dead on Thursday after two powerful ​earthquakes wreaked havoc in and around the capital Caracas, trapping people beneath the rubble of collapsed buildings and setting ‌off powerful aftershocks.

A magnitude 7.2 earthquake hit about 160 kilometres west of Caracas on Wednesday afternoon, followed less than a minute later by a magnitude 7.5 tremor, according to the US Geological Survey.