Venezuela earthquakes death toll rises to 589, other nations rush to help

International search and rescue teams from at least 17 countries are being scrambled to Venezuela to help look for survivors of Wednesday’s devastating twin earthquakes, the United Nations said on Friday.

The death toll had risen to 589, with 2,980 injured, acting President Delcy Rodríguez said on Friday.

The number of casualties was expected to climb.

Venezuela’s political opposition set up a website to track missing people, in parallel to government efforts.

It showed there were more than 58,000 people unaccounted for, far exceeding the government’s official count, which reached 150 on Thursday at midday.

Families posted missing-person flyers with photos of while others shared handwritten lists of names.