Earthquake of magnitude 5.4 strikes Pakistan
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Earthquake of magnitude 5.4 strikes Pakistan
Earthquake of magnitude 5.4 strikes Pakistan
An earthquake of magnitude 5.4 struck Pakistan on Saturday morning, the European-Mediterranean Seismological Centre (EMSC) said. The quake occurred at a depth of 35 kilometres (22 miles) at 8:36 am local time. There were no immediate reports of casualties or damage.
The earthquake comes hours after another quake measuring 4.7 struck off the northern coast of Venezuela, which was already reeling from the twin quakes that resulted in widespread devastation across the country. The latest tremor was recorded 61 kilometres northwest of Maracay, according to the European-Mediterranean Seismological Centre.
The death toll in the disaster has reached 920, with tens of thousands reported missing as rescue teams race to search for survivors under the collapsed buildings. Authorities expect the number to rise further as thousands were injured and more than 50,000 remain missing. The two quakes, one magnitude 7.2 and the other 7.5, struck within a minute of each other on Wednesday evening, flattening buildings in the northern parts of the country. The worst-hit area was La Guaira, near the capital Caracas, where entire residential blocks collapsed.
Rescue teams on the ground said the scale of the destruction has made the search for survivors extremely difficult.
"Unfortunately, the collapse is total, and there is little chance of finding survivors," said rescue team leader Nadiomar Polanco, adding that efforts were now focused on recovering bodies from the site.
In several neighbourhoods, residents, volunteers, and families are still clearing rubble manually, with limited access to heavy machinery and what many describe as insufficient official support. Some people in the most severely affected areas say government assistance has yet to reach them in a meaningful way.
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Meanwhile, international assistance is now being mobilised. Search-and-rescue teams from Spain, El Salvador, Switzerland, Colombia, and Mexico have already arrived at the site. The United States has also committed a disaster response deployment of more than 250 personnel, including specialised rescue teams and trained dogs.
