The death toll from the twin earthquakes that struck northern Venezuela on 24 June has risen to at least 4,490 — with some reports citing a figure as high as 4,561 — nearly three weeks after the disaster. A further 16,740 people were injured and 6,462 rescued alive, according to official figures released by Jorge Rodríguez, president of the National Assembly. The two quakes, measuring magnitude 7.2 and 7.5, struck the capital Caracas and the adjacent coastal state of La Guaira, flattening entire high-rise apartment blocks and leaving tens of thousands homeless.

One of the most contentious issues has been the government's refusal to publish a figure for those still missing. The last official count of unaccounted persons, issued the day after the quakes, stood at 157. Independent citizen-run platforms, however, have registered close to 30,000 people whom relatives have been unable to reach. Rodríguez defended the omission, saying authorities would not operate