The US Geological Survey estimated more than 10,000 deaths were possible from the magnitude 7.2 and 7.5 quakes, which would place them among Latin America's deadliest of the last century.

In Venezuela, rescue teams are racing against time after twin earthquakes killed more than 1,400 people and left tens of thousands unaccounted for.

Critics say the country’s interim president, Delcy Rodríguez, is trying to exploit the tragedy for her political benefit. Her supporters accuse the opposition of doing the same.

LA GUAIRA, Venezuela — Venezuela’s twin earthquakes have killed at least 1,430 people, with millions more feared to be without sanitation and other essential services as the first US aid flights landed in Caracas on Saturday.

In Venezuela’s coastal state of La Guaira, which was hardest hit in the massive twin earthquakes on Wednesday, residents said they spent the night awake and reported that several people remained trapped in the rubble after severe damage to dozens of apartment buildings.

Two powerful quakes shook the South American country, causing death and destruction. Two major earthquakes rocked Venezuela on Wednesday, killing scores of people and injuring hundreds of others, the authorities said.

Satellite photos showed the destruction in Venezuela left by two powerful earthquakes that struck Wednesday and left more than 900 people dead

Lucas Trejo's wife, Yanina Maranella, and their children, Aaron and Ainhoa Trejo, died when two powerful earthquakes struck the country's Yaracuy region.