The death toll from the powerful earthquake that struck Venezuela on June 24 has reached nearly 3,000.

AFP reported on July 4 (local time), citing an official announcement from the Venezuelan government, that the number of confirmed deaths has risen to 2,954.

This figure is an increase of 309 from the 2,645 reported the previous day, and the number of injured has surpassed 16,000.

The official death toll released by the government is based on recovered bodies, and it is highly likely that the number of victims will continue to rise as time passes.

While the Venezuelan government has not released an official count of the missing, the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) previously estimated that the number of missing persons could reach 50,000.

International rescue teams, along with Venezuelan fire and military authorities, are continuing search and rescue operations. However, as the disaster enters its tenth day, the possibility of finding survivors is becoming increasingly slim.

Since the dramatic rescue of Hernan Alberto Gil Flores, a night security guard at a shopping center in Catia La Mar, La Guaira State, on July 2—eight days after the earthquake—there have been no reports of additional survivors.

As rescue teams gradually shift toward concluding search operations, foreign media reported that grieving families remain at the sites, unable to leave as they cling to a sliver of hope for any sound from beneath the rubble.

(Photo: AP, Yonhap News)