Jean Franco Amoni Rodriguez was eating ice-cream and listening to music on headphones at a Caracas shopping mall on Wednesday (June 24) when people around him suddenly froze. “It was like an immediate state of shock that lasted about five seconds,” the 25-year-old said. Rodriguez said some shoppers had received warning alarms but didn’t understand what was happening, and they didn’t feel the quake at first. Then the tremor hit. “Immediately afterward, we felt the tremor, and we all quickly headed for the exit,” he said. “Five seconds later, maybe 10 seconds at most, the earthquake greatly increased in magnitude, and it was all very terrifying. I’d never experienced anything like that before, much less inside a shopping mall. It was very unnerving.” Video shared by Rodriguez showed people scrambling for exits while others cowered near debris strewn on the floor. Reuters confirmed the location from interior design, escalators and layout of the shopping mall which matched archive images. Location and date of the video were also verified by original file metadata. Two powerful earthquakes hit Venezuela on Wednesday, killing at least 32 people and injuring 700. Dozens of buildings collapsed into piles of concrete and steel in and around Caracas, authorities said. A magnitude 7.2 earthquake hit about 160 km (100 miles) west of Caracas, followed less than a minute later by a magnitude 7.5 tremor, according to the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS). The USGS, using predictive modelling to estimate the death toll, said it would most likely run into the thousands, with a substantial probability of exceeding 10,000.

DESCRIPCIÓN DE IMÁGENES

VIDEO SHOWS: PEOPLE RUNNING IN SHOPPING MALL AS EARTHQUAKE STRUCK / SOUNDBITES FROM EYEWITNESS

VERIFICATION:

- Interior design, escalators and layout of the shopping mall matched archive image

- Location and date also verified by original file metadata

RESENDING WITH TRANSLATIONS TO SOUNDBITES

SHOWS: CARACAS, VENEZUELA (JUNE 24, 2026) (JEAN FRANCO AMONI RODRIGUEZ - No resales / No archive / Must on-screen courtesy Jean Franco Amoni Rodriguez)

1. PEOPLE RUNNING INSIDE SHOPPING CENTRE DURING EARTHQUAKE / PEOPLE COWERING AS OTHERS RUN PAST PIECES OF DEBRIS ON FLOOR / PEOPLE RUNNING DOWN RAMP

CARACAS, VENEZUELA (JUNE 24, 2026) (JEAN FRANCO AMONI RODRIGUEZ - No resales / No archive / Must on-screen courtesy Jean Franco Amoni Rodriguez) (ORIGINALLY SHOT IN PORTRAIT)

2. (SOUNDBITE) (Spanish) EYEWITNESS, STYLIST AT SHOPPING CENTRE, JEAN FRANCO AMONI RODRIGUEZ, SAYING:

"At that moment I was inside the mall. I was having an ice-cream before going to buy some vegetables for my pets. I had my earphones on, listening to some music and all of a sudden people froze, we couldn't feel anything. It was like an immediate state of shock that lasted about five seconds. It seemed that some people already received warning alarms and didn't know what was going on, we couldn't feel the earthquake. Right after that we felt the quake and we rushed, not in an emergency mood, but quickly to the exit door."

CARACAS, VENEZUELA (JUNE 24, 2026) (JEAN FRANCO AMONI RODRIGUEZ - No resales / No archive / Must on-screen courtesy Jean Franco Amoni Rodriguez)

3. REPEATED EXCERPT OF SHOT 1 SHOWING PEOPLE RUNNING INSIDE SHOPPING CENTRE

CARACAS, VENEZUELA (JUNE 24, 2026) (JEAN FRANCO AMONI RODRIGUEZ - No resales / No archive / Must on-screen courtesy Jean Franco Amoni Rodriguez) (ORIGINALLY SHOT IN PORTRAIT)

4. (SOUNDBITE) (Spanish) EYEWITNESS, STYLIST AT SHOPPING CENTER, JEAN FRANCO AMONI RODRIGUEZ, SAYING:

"Five seconds later, maybe ten seconds later at most, the earthquake greatly increased in magnitude, and it was all very terrifying. I'd never experienced anything like that before. I'm twenty-five years old, and I'd never experienced anything like that either, much less inside a shopping mall, and it was very unnerving.”

CARACAS, VENEZUELA (JUNE 24, 2026) (JEAN FRANCO AMONI RODRIGUEZ - No resales / No archive / Must on-screen courtesy Jean Franco Amoni Rodriguez)

5. REPEATED EXCERPT OF SHOT 1 SHOWING PEOPLE RUNNING PAST PIECES OF DEBRIS ON FLOOR

CARACAS, VENEZUELA (JUNE 24, 2026) (JEAN FRANCO AMONI RODRIGUEZ - No resales / No archive / Must on-screen courtesy Jean Franco Amoni Rodriguez) (ORIGINALLY SHOT IN PORTRAIT)

6. (SOUNDBITE) (Spanish) EYEWITNESS, STYLIST AT SHOPPING CENTRE, JEAN FRANCO AMONI RODRIGUEZ, SAYING:

"People were more worried because they felt the mall was going to collapse; it literally felt like everything was going to crumble. There was no way to get to a ladder, I mean, there was absolutely no chance to do anything. Everyone was just waiting for the building to fall on top of us, and that's how I felt too. I lay down, like you can see in the video, I leaned against the railing, and I thought, well, I was worried about the roof. If the roof is going to fall, I'll jump over the railing and land on the floor below, it doesn't matter, the roof won't fall on me."

CARACAS, VENEZUELA (JUNE 24, 2026) (JEAN FRANCO AMONI RODRIGUEZ - No resales / No archive / Must on-screen courtesy Jean Franco Amoni Rodriguez)

7. REPEATED EXCERPT OF SHOT 1 SHOWING PEOPLE REACTING AMID EARTHQUAKE / PIECES OF DEBRIS ON FLOOR

CARACAS, VENEZUELA (JUNE 24, 2026) (JEAN FRANCO AMONI RODRIGUEZ - No resales / No archive / Must on-screen courtesy Jean Franco Amoni Rodriguez) (ORIGINALLY SHOT IN PORTRAIT)

8. (SOUNDBITE) (Spanish) EYEWITNESS, STYLIST AT SHOPPING CENTER, JEAN FRANCO AMONI RODRIGUEZ, SAYING:

"That was my immediate reaction. I mean, there was no chance to get to the ladder or anything because the earthquake was too strong. And yes, obviously parts of the roof, parts of the slabs, of the walls were falling. There was a lot of structural damage happening live, right in front of all of us. Someone must have been hurt; I wasn't paying attention to that, but someone was injured. And well, I left there immediately. I went home, which is quite close, just a few metres away. I live across the street from the mall, and yes, a lot of people left, but from my house I can see the mall, and not everyone left. I didn't understand what was happening, and eventually, aftershocks were felt, and the mall still had its lights on, which I also didn't understand. It was an emergency; I don't know why everyone didn't leave at once. So, the current situation in my neighbourhood."

CARACAS, VENEZUELA (JUNE 24, 2026) (JEAN FRANCO AMONI RODRIGUEZ - No resales / No archive / Must on-screen courtesy Jean Franco Amoni Rodriguez)

9. REPEATED EXCERPT OF SHOT 1 SHOWING PEOPLE RUNNING DOWN RAMP