By TV Channel 7 and Agencies – published by CNA
WITH thousands of Venezuelans feared dead today (June 25) after two powerful earthquakes wreaked havoc in and around the capital Caracas, trapping people beneath the rubble of collapsed buildings and setting off powerful aftershocks, Thailand is preparing to send a search and rescue team along with three K9 dogs there to help support international operation.
A magnitude 7.2 earthquake hit about 160km west of Caracas on Wednesday afternoon, followed less than a minute later by a magnitude 7.5 tremor, according to the US Geological Survey.
This afternoon Deputy Interior Minister Jeseth Thaiseth chaired a meeting at the National Disaster Prevention and Mitigation Command Centre, Department of Disaster Prevention and Mitigation, during which he instructed officials to form a team to closely monitor the earthquake situation in Venezuela 24 hours a day and prepare to dispatch a main team of 46 Urban Search and Rescue (USAR Thailand) personnel, along with 3 K9 dogs to help out at the South American country.
The USAR Thailand team draws personnel from various government and private sector agencies, including Department of Disaster Prevention and Mitigation, Department of Medical Services, Bangkok Metropolitan Administration, Engineering Institute of Thailand under Royal Patronage, Foundation for Environmental and Social Development, and NPC Safety & Environmental Services Co., Ltd., for support operations with all agencies ready to participate in missions immediately upon request.
USAR Thailand has been evaluated by the United National advisory body INSARAG External Classification (IEC) system.
Venezuela’s strongest earthquake since 1900 sent rescuers and locals clambering in the dark over flattened buildings, hunting for survivors and extracting people from under the ruins.
Countries including the US, China and India offered to urgently send help.
Interim President Delcy Rodriguez said at least 164 people were confirmed dead and nearly 1,000 injured, and the worst-affected area was La Guaira state, near Caracas and home to the city’s airport. Witnesses’ footage there showed scenes of panic as ceilings came down.
The US Geological Survey, 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.
A website set up to track missing people and posted on X by leaders from the country’s opposition, many of whom are outside Venezuela, listed more than 10,000 people as unaccounted for at 5.40 a.m. local time (4.40 p.m. Thailand time).
Many Venezuelans were at home when the quakes struck during a public holiday.
Rodriguez said rescue crews from other countries would arrive soon as she thanked leaders including US President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin.
She called for unity in Venezuela, where anti-government protests by people facing annual inflation of more than 500 percent have become more frequent since Trump ordered the capture of President Nicolas Maduro in a violent raid in January.
Trump said on social media that the US was ready to help in the disaster, which he said had left a “devastating” number of deaths.
The UN’s Venezuela human rights mission urged the government to lift local restrictions on social media, saying it was a “matter of life and death”. In some areas, access was available as authorities struggled to cope in a country weighed down by years of economic mismanagement.
“No one saving them”
After Wednesday’s shock, some residential buildings showed large cracks and fallen walls, with dozens of others destroyed, according to AFP reporters.
“There are people alive in there and no one is coming to save them,” said a woman waiting for news of her daughter, who was buried in a ruined 12-storey building.
The European Union, Spain, Italy, China, India and most Latin American countries have expressed solidarity and offered aid.
The US was “immediately deploying search and rescue teams, medical resources, and humanitarian assistance to Venezuela”, Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on Thursday.
The first quake, with an epicentre 21km west of the coastal town of Moron, occurred at 10.04 p.m. GMT, USGS said.
Within a minute, a 7.5-magnitude quake struck about 45km away.
“This earthquake was the second event in a doublet. This magnitude 7.5 mainshock was preceded by 39 seconds by a 7.2 foreshock,” USGS said.
The 7.5-magnitude earthquake that hit Venezuela was the most powerful since Oct. 29, 1900, when a 7.7-magnitude quake hit offshore.
CAPTIONS:
Top – Emergency services work at the site of a collapsed building after an earthquake, in Caracas, Venezuela, on June 24, 2026. Photo – Reuters/Gaby Oraa and published by CNA
First insert – Thai K9 dogs. Photo – TV Channel 7
Second insert – A man holding a dog cries after an earthquake in Caracas, Venezuela, on Wednesday, June 24, 2026. Photo: AP/Javier Campos and published by CNA
Third insert – A woman walks with kids after an earthquake in Caracas, Venezuela, on June 24, 2026. Photo: Reuters/Maxwell Briceno and published by CNA
Front Page – Two women wait at the site of a collapsed building as emergency workers search for their relatives, after an earthquake in Caracas, Venezuela, on June 25, 2026. Photo: Reuters/Gaby Oraa and published by CNA
Watch video shared on X.com by Ryan Rozbiani @RyanRozbiani with this caption:
“Venezuela looks like it was BOMBED after two MASSIVE 7.1 and 7.5 magnitude earthquakes. Pray for the people, this is really bad.”
https://x.com/RyanRozbiani/status/2069953511501005131/video/1
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