Rescuers and volunteers searched through the rubble of collapsed buildings in Caracas on Thursday (June 25), a day after two powerful earthquakes struck Venezuela, killing at least 164 people and leaving thousands more feared dead. A magnitude 7.2 quake hit around 160 kilometres west of the capital on Wednesday (June 24) afternoon, followed less than a minute later by a magnitude 7.5 tremor, trapping residents beneath debris across multiple neighbourhoods. Kitchen worker Erick Paul Martinez Santos, 52, said he spent four hours trapped in his building before being rescued by Civil Defence workers who had few tools at their disposal. Merchant Natalia Cordoba was among those gathered at a collapse site in solidarity, as a colleague waited for news of his wife and two children believed to be trapped under the rubble. Twenty-year-old political activist David Cedeño said he had been volunteering since the previous evening, adding that rescuers held hope that survivors could still be found alive.

DESCRIPCIÓN DE IMÁGENES

VIDEO SHOWS: TEAMS SEARCHING AMONG COLLAPSED BUILDINGS/ SOUNDBITE FROM QUAKE SURVIVOR AND RESIDENTS AT SCENE

RESENDING WITH COMPLETE SCRIPT

SHOWS: CARACAS, VENEZUELA (JUNE 25, 2026) (REUTERS - Access all)

1. VARIOUS OF COLLAPSED BUILDINGS IN LOS PALOS GRANDES ALTAMIRA, EAST CARACAS

2. VARIOUS OF DEBRIS FROM COLLAPSED BUILDINGS

3. RESIDENTS TALKING

4. (SOUNDBITE) (Spanish) QUAKE SURVIVOR AND KITCHEN WORKER, ERICK PAUL MARTINEZ SANTOS, 52, SAYING: "My name is Erick Paul Martínez Santos and I am a survivor of the earthquake that occurred yesterday afternoon. I was in my building for four hours until I was rescued by someone from Civil Defence or I'm not sure. They didn't have many tools. They couldn't find the chisel, the drill, the grinder, they went at it with their nails. I also helped because they passed me a tool. And it saved me because I had a lot of furniture in my home that protected me from the wall."

5. VARIOUS OF DAMAGED VEHICLE UNDER DEBRIS FROM BUILDING IN SAN BERNARDINO AREA, WEST CARACAS

6. COLLAPSED BUILDING

7. VOLUNTEERS AND RESCUERS REMOVING DEBRIS AND BRANCHES

8. VARIOUS OF PEOPLE LOOKING ON

9. (SOUNDBITE) (Spanish) MERCHANT AND FRIEND OF PERSON TRAPPED UNDER RUBBLE, NATALIA CORDOBA, SAYING: "We are here in solidarity with a colleague whose wife is under all this structure, his children, he has two children and his wife under there, with the hope of finding them alive. And, well, we are here as I say, in solidarity, hoping that his family is well. And, well, as I say, I am not from the area. My building suffered some damage, but nothing compared to what this guy is going through in this place."

10. VARIOUS OF RESCUERS AND VOLUNTEERS SEARCHING FOR SURVIVORS

11. MACHINERY REMOVING DEBRIS

12. PERSON LOOKING ON

13. RESCUERS AND VOLUNTEERS REMOVING DEBRIS

14. (SOUNDBITE) (Spanish) POLITICAL ACTIVIST VOLUNTEERING TO REMOVE DEBRIS, DAVID CEDENO, 20, SAYING:

"I am a young man who has come to the site to help. This is a moment when we cannot let ourselves be carried away by indifference and as a Venezuelan citizen I am here supporting the security forces with whom we are carrying out an arduous search since 6 o'clock in the evening of the previous day. And here we are, looking for survivors who may be there. We have the hope and faith that there are people alive."

15. COLLAPSED BUILDING

16. VARIOUS OF VOLUNTEERS AND RESCUERS SEARCHING FOR SURVIVORS