Two powerful earthquakes in Venezuela have killed at least 188 people and injured more than 1,500. Rescuers are searching through rubble for survivors in the capital Caracas and the nearby coastal city of La Guaira. This was reported by Qazaqyia.kz citing BBC News.
The first 7.2-magnitude quake was followed seconds later by an even stronger 7.5-magnitude one, according to the US Geological Survey (USGS), with both occurring close to the surface, making destruction more severe.
The earthquakes struck at 18:04 local time (22:04 GMT) on Wednesday - a national holiday in Venezuela, meaning more people would have been at home than on a normal weekday.
Jorge Rodríguez, the president of Venezuela's National Assembly, reported on Thursday that the death toll had risen, after the country's interim President Delcy Rodríguez declared a state of emergency.
Jorge Rodríguez said 250 buildings had been damaged or lost, mostly in La Guaira, where the BBC verified footage of a 10-storey hotel reduced to rubble. On Thursday, people were searching for loved ones there.
Juan Ortiz, a medical student in Caracas, told the BBC one of his close friends had been confirmed dead, another was believed to be under the rubble, and around 20 people he knew who live in the coastal area were missing.
Buildings were also brought down in the capital, Interior Minister Diosdado Cabello said, with Trujillo, Yaracuy, Carabobo, Aragua and Miranda also affected.
Mayor Gustavo Duque of Chacao, which forms part of the greater metropolitan area of Caracas, said outside one ruined building on Thursday that 11 people had died there and 23 had been rescued. He said the team was trying to clear the rubble so that specialists could go in to reach people who are hopefully still alive.
Venezuela's main international airport in Maiquetía on the outskirts of Caracas has been closed due to serious damage. Video from inside the terminal showed dust and debris falling from the ceiling.
About 250km (155 miles) northwest of Caracas, another verified video showed a multi-storey building, reportedly a hotel, collapsed in Tucacas on the coast.
Aftershocks have continued to ripple through the area, with at least 30 recorded after the two earthquakes, Delcy Rodríguez told state-run television channel Venezolana de Televisión.
The USGS said: "High casualties and extensive damage are probable and the disaster is likely widespread." It estimated there was a 42% chance of more than 10,000 deaths and a 33% chance of more than 100,000 as a result of the earthquakes, based on a range of factors including previous, similar quakes and the size of the nearby population. These figures were issued to help the emergency response and are not an exact prediction.
Venezuela lies over the meeting point of two tectonic plates. Caracas-based journalist Luis Hernandez told BBC Newsday that assessing the true scale of the damage would be difficult, with power cuts and internet failures complicating the situation.