The death toll in the double earthquake in Venezuela increased to nearly 600

Venezuelan interim President Delcy Rodriguez announced the number of casualties in a meeting with civil and military officials broadcast live today. Health Secretary Carlos Alvarado earlier said about 4,300 people were injured.

Rescuers are racing against time, using both heavy machinery and bare hands to dig and rescue people trapped under rubble in the epicenter west of Caracas. At a flattened building, rescue workers used sledgehammers to break concrete slabs and asked for “absolute silence” to be able to listen to victims’ cries for help.

In La Guaira, the state hardest hit, Ms. Amparo del Giudice is digging through rubble with her bare hands to find her son. “Bricks and stones are piled up, there’s nothing you can do with your bare hands,” she said.

At another location, local residents shared with AFP reporters that a little girl died after hours of calling for help before the helplessness of those around her. “We need more people, we need the army to help us get her out,” said local resident Dani Rizo.

The US Geological Survey (USGS) said the first earthquake of 7.2 magnitude occurred on the evening of June 24 with the epicenter at a depth of 22 km, near the capital San Felipe of Yaracuy state. The second one with a magnitude of 7.5 took place 39 seconds later, the epicenter was at a depth of 10 km and about 5-10 km from the first epicenter.

This is the strongest earthquake recorded in Venezuela in more than a century.

Many countries around the world have committed to sending human resources, finance and essential supplies. Rescue teams from El Salvador, Switzerland and Mexico were at the scene.

The US said it is deploying two warships, transport aircraft and helicopters, and is mobilizing an aid package worth 150 million USD. A senior US military official also went to the capital Caracas to monitor relief efforts deployed by Washington.