Venezuela earthquakes kill 920 people as families desperate for news

One case that boosted morale across Venezuela is the rescue in La Guaira of three young siblings, who emerged from the rubble covered in dust and debris, footage broadcast on state television showed.

“Come here, my child, come here,” a man says to the first child as he emerges alive from a gap between chunks of concrete.

A girl then comes out, as the man asks her: “Are you siblings?”, to which she replies: “Yes, there are three of us.”

Shortly afterwards, with a little more difficulty, the third sister emerges, sobbing and covered in dust from head to toe.

Tributes are being paid to those who died. The wife of Venezuelan footballer Héctor Bello was killed while saving their daughter, according to his social media and local news.

Bello wrote on Instagram that “his precious love”, named by Venezuelan news outlets as his wife Andrea, saved the life of their toddler during the quakes.

“I’ll tell her the story of how you saved her, my love – how you gave your own life for our daughter, how you were a brave woman who never abandoned her, even as you took your last breaths,” Bello wrote in one post.

One Portuguese national and two Brazilian citizens were also among those killed, their governments confirmed.

Four Spanish nationals were also among the dead, with 106 still unaccounted for, Spanish media reported, citing its foreign ministry.

Venezuela’s Interior Minister Diosdado Cabello said multiple states had been affected by the twin quakes. In Caracas, the worst-hit areas were the neighbourhoods of Los Palos Grandes and Altamira.

The government said aftershocks had largely affected the country’s northern coastline, including La Guaira, Aragua, Carabobo and Falcón.