The president of the National Assembly of Venezuela, Jorge Rodríguez, reported that the number of deaths from the magnitude 7.2 and 7.5 earthquakes, recorded on Wednesday (24), reached 920.
In an update to the official report released in a television address this Friday afternoon (26), he added that the number of injured had risen to 3,360, while 172 people remain trapped in the rubble and more than 4,000 are homeless.
Also according to Rodríguez, to date, 302 aftershocks have been recorded after the two consecutive earthquakes that caused serious destruction in Caracas and La Guaira, in addition to structural damage in Aragua, Miranda, Carabobo, Falcón and Yaracuy.
Rodríguez highlighted that the coast of Guairá is militarized and is under the control of the Bolivarian National Armed Forces (FANB) to guarantee security, internal order and facilitate rescue efforts by national agencies and several friendly countries.
He detailed that there are 861 employees from international rescue organizations from Switzerland, the United States, Spain, Ecuador, Italy, Colombia, El Salvador, Mexico, Chile, Panama, the Dominican Republic and a special United Nations team at the disaster site. Brazil sent a humanitarian mission this Friday (26), with doctors, sniffer dogs and specialized equipment needed for search and rescue operations.
“All of them with 63 tons of specialized equipment and 33 sniffer dogs that are helping us in this emergency. And planes continue to arrive with more international aid, which will join the thousands of employees and volunteers in the country”, said the president of the assembly.
He also guaranteed that the road that connects the state to Los Caracas is free, but asked the population “not to go down to La Guaira”, to avoid unnecessary congestion on the roads and guarantee the advancement of relief teams.
“The best help you can give is to avoid clogging the roads so that health teams can transport patients,” asked Rodríguez, reminding everyone that donated supplies can be delivered to collection centers in La Carlota and Almacenadora Caracas.
Also according to the president, he recalled that 2,600 tons of food, drinking water and proteins have already been distributed to the state of La Guaira, a region that was declared a disaster zone because it was one of the hardest hit by the earthquakes.
Appeal for calm
Rodríguez also denounced the false rumors spread about a supposed tsunami, which generated despair among the population and caused significant delays in the process of rescuing trapped victims.
In view of this, he asked Venezuelans to remain calm and pay attention only to official communications from the Venezuelan State.
“We will not hide anything about the magnitude of this tragedy, the greatest we have ever suffered. Please also understand that, when we give recommendations, we do so to speed up the care and rescue of those affected”, concluded Rodríguez.
with information from teleSur
Source: www.brasildefato.com.br
