CARACAS (AP) — Venezuelan authorities announced late Friday that the combined death toll from two powerful earthquakes that struck the country last month has reached 5,069.
A statement from the interim government of President Delcy Rodriguez confirmed that the number of people injured remains at 16,740 — a figure that has held steady for the past 11 days.
The rising death toll is being attributed to ongoing recovery efforts and debris removal operations, especially in the coastal state of La Guaira, which sits near the Caribbean Sea and was the most severely affected area. As of Friday, authorities had recorded a total of 1,331 aftershocks following the initial quakes.
The Venezuelan government reports that 856 buildings sustained damage and 190 were completely destroyed following the 7.2 and 7.5 magnitude earthquakes that struck on June 24. Hundreds of additional structures, including roads and bridges, were also impacted by the disaster.
