The death toll from the twin earthquakes that struck Venezuela on June 24 has risen to 2,954, according to official figures released on Saturday.
Authorities said more than 16,000 people were injured in the disaster, while thousands remain missing following the 7.2- and 7.5-magnitude earthquakes that devastated parts of the country.
The earthquakes, among the deadliest to hit Latin America in recent years, left more than 16,000 people homeless and destroyed 190 buildings, most of them in the coastal state of La Guaira, north of the capital, Caracas.
Ten days after the disaster, rescue teams are winding down search-and-rescue operations as hopes of finding more survivors fade. Families have meanwhile continued efforts to recover the bodies of relatives trapped beneath collapsed buildings.
Although the likelihood of finding survivors typically declines sharply after the first 72 hours following an earthquake, rescue workers have reported a small number of survivors being pulled alive from the rubble in recent days.
