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Venezuela earthquake death toll rises
Venezuelan physicians report untreated wounds and infectious diseases as the primary threats to survivors one week after twin earthquakes struck the country. Rescue teams from more than two dozen countries continue operations despite the passage of the typical 72-hour survival window.
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Doctors in Venezuela said Wednesday that untreated wounds and infectious diseases now pose the greatest risks to survivors of the June 24 earthquakes. Thousands of displaced residents remain in crowded shelters or outdoors without clean water, creating conditions that aid workers described as a growing medical crisis.
Eugenio Cova, head of the trauma unit at Hospital del Oeste Dr. José Gregor Hernández in Caracas, said the hospital has treated scores of severely injured patients while facing shortages of screws, plates, and medicated gauze. The government reported that the earthquakes damaged or compromised 38 hospitals nationwide.
Rescue operations continue Search teams from more than two dozen countries pressed forward Wednesday even as the window for finding survivors narrowed. A toddler was pulled from rubble after six days, and officials said a small number of additional survivors have been located.
The United States has deployed 900 military personnel and 100 State Department staff to support relief efforts, according to a U.S. Southern Command spokesman. Venezuelan officials counted more than 1,900 deaths as of Tuesday, with thousands more reported missing.
One digital database showed over 40,600 people still unaccounted for as of Wednesday. Families continue to wait near collapsed buildings for information about missing relatives.
