00:01Rescue efforts continue across Venezuela on Thursday, as hundreds remain trapped under rubble, with many still unaccounted for.
00:09The devastation follows twin earthquakes that struck the day before, in and around the capital, Caracas.
00:16The U.S. Geological Survey says the toll is likely to rise into the thousands.
00:21Venezuela's health minister on Thursday said more than 230 dead have been received by medical centers.
00:27He did not give a total number of casualties.
00:30Officials earlier said hundreds of people remain trapped, with around 250 buildings damaged or destroyed.
00:37The quakes hit a country already strained by years of economic turmoil, leaving infrastructure fragile, while aftershocks complicate rescue efforts.
00:47One man recalled how he was pulled out alive.
00:50I was in the building for four hours until I was rescued by someone from the civil defense, or I'm
00:55not sure.
00:59They didn't have many tools.
01:01They couldn't find the chisel, the drill, the grinder.
01:04They went at it with their nails.
01:10I also helped because they passed me a tool.
01:12And it saved me because I had a lot of furniture in my home that protected me from the wall.
01:21Interim President Darcy Rodriguez visited La Guayra State, one of the hardest-hit areas.
01:26We have requested international assistance.
01:29The first rescuers arriving from the Dominican Republic are about to land.
01:34And in the coming hours, the rest of the countries and the international community will arrive.
01:41Our best wishes, all our hope, and all our prayers are with the lives of Venezuelan men and women.
01:48El Salvador and Mexico sent crews and rescue teams on Thursday to provide aid.
01:53The United States has pledged support and moved to ease sanctions,
01:58authorizing transactions related to earthquake aid that would otherwise be prohibited.
