Venezuela recovers more bodies; quake death toll hits 3 535

Venezuela’s earthquake death toll rose to 3 535 on Monday, according to the latest official figures, as authorities continued to recover bodies nearly two weeks after the disaster.

Nearly 17 000 people have been injured, 6 500 rescued and 18 000 displaced, National Assembly President Jorge Rodríguez said on Telegram.

The magnitude 7.2 and 7.5 earthquakes struck within a minute of each other on June 24, toppling buildings and severely damaging the country’s main international airport.

Later Monday, while assessing the impact and damage caused by the twin earthquakes in the so-called Maiquetia airport, acting President Delcy Rodríguez said she had ordered a plan to resume commercial airline operations using a parallel runway, “as soon as possible and according to an operational restart schedule.”

Authorities say more than 850 buildings were damaged, including 190 that collapsed. An opposition-backed tally estimates that more than 30 000 people remain unaccounted for.

Search-and-rescue teams were still pulling survivors from the rubble as of Sunday. In the hard-hit coastal state of La Guaira, trenches are being dug to receive the remains of unidentified victims, while residents searched the rubble for valuables before heavy machinery moved in to look for more bodies. Residents have continued to complain that rescue crews have yet to reach some collapsed homes, while fuel shortages have hampered the operation of heavy machinery in parts of La Guaira.

Rodríguez has continued to defend her administration’s response despite mounting criticism that rescue operations and aid distribution were slow to respond, which has prompted her approval ratings to drop.

Speaking during the country’s Independence Day celebrations on Sunday, Rodríguez renewed her call for the US to lift sanctions, arguing that Venezuela needs broader access to international financing to speed up reconstruction.

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