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Hope of finding more survivors faded Wednesday as Venezuela marked a week since twin earthquakes killed almost 2,300 people, while many who lived through the disaster were running desperately short on food. As the death toll mounted, Venezuela's interim president Delcy Rodriguez declared seven days of mourning, saying the country's "soul is torn apart by the human losses." Tens of thousands of people remain unaccounted for.

Coverage comparison

Dawn and France 24 both reported the key figures: almost 2,300 dead, tens of thousands unaccounted for, and the United Nations' estimate of 50,000 missing. They also quoted the same Spanish rescue team coordinator, Javier Rodes, whose sniffer dog Nala searched the rubble in vain. Both outlets highlighted the shift from rescue to recovery, but Dawn also noted that the US has around 2,000 personnel assisting in the response, a detail not present in France 24's report. France 24, however, carried the World Food Programme's appeal for $50 million to feed some 500,000 people for three months, a claim not in Dawn's coverage. Dawn also placed the disaster in the context of a fragile political transition, six months after the United States ousted leader Nicolas Maduro, a framing not found in France 24's article.

Key claims

  • Twin earthquakes killed almost 2,300 people in Venezuela.
  • Many who lived through the disaster were running desperately short on food.
  • Venezuela's interim president Delcy Rodriguez declared seven days of mourning.
  • Tens of thousands of people remain unaccounted for.
  • International rescue teams arrived from around the globe to dig out survivors.
  • The United Nations estimates 50,000 people are missing.
  • The World Food Programme appealed for $50 million to feed some 500,000 people for three months in Venezuela.
  • The US has around 2,000 personnel assisting in the response.
  • The country is in a fragile transition six months after the United States ousted leader Nicolas Maduro.
Venezuela's National Assembly President Jorge Rodriguez said Wednesday that deaths had risen to 2,295, and more than 11,000 people were injured, according to both outlets. He also said almost 13,000 people had been left homeless. The majority of collapsed buildings in the hardest-hit city of La Guaira, just north of Caracas, have been marked with the letter 'D' for 'deceased' – a sign they had been searched with no signs of life found. Speaking from the rubble, Javier Rodes noted, "Time isn't wasted in a place where there is no expectation of recovering people alive." There have been miracle survivors, such as a three-year-old boy found alive Tuesday, six days after Venezuela's most powerful quake in over a century, but experts say trapped victims are unlikely to survive more than 72 hours.

With daily life in ruins, the focus is now shifting to survival. The two powerful quakes, measuring 7.2 and 7.5, shattered entire neighborhoods in oil-rich Venezuela, which has suffered decades of economic crisis that had devastated infrastructure and health services. Locals are furious at the absence of the state in the aftermath of the disaster, as reported by Dawn.