Death Toll Surges Overnight; 72-Hour Golden Time Passes

[Anchor]

Next, we have news regarding the strong earthquake in Venezuela. The death toll has risen by more than 500 in just one day, surpassing 1,400. As the 72-hour window, considered the golden time for rescue operations, has passed since the earthquake struck, the desperation at the rescue sites is intensifying.

Reporter Lee Tae-gwon has the story.

[Reporter]

Rescue workers carefully pull a nine-month-old baby from the rubble of a collapsed building.

When the child's mother is also successfully rescued, a round of applause breaks out in relief.

In the debris of another building, an 11-year-old boy is dramatically saved after a six-hour operation.

While rescue efforts are in full swing, the death toll from the series of earthquakes in Venezuela has increased from 920 to 1,430 in just one day.

[Jorge Rodriguez / President of the National Assembly of Venezuela (Local time, June 27): As of 1:17 p.m., the death toll has been recorded at 1,430. Additionally, 3,238 injured people have received treatment.]

The number of unofficially reported missing persons has exceeded at least 60,000.

The 72-hour period, during which the chances of survival without water are high, has passed, necessitating faster rescue efforts. However, operations are facing difficulties due to a lack of equipment and 430 aftershocks.

[Yamil Santana / Family member of a missing person: People say that survivors are still there. But it seems there are not enough machines and equipment to clear all this debris.]

The international community has begun providing comprehensive rescue support.

Venezuelan authorities stated that 24 countries have dispatched approximately 2,700 rescue personnel along with over 500 tons of relief supplies.

One of the runways at Simon Bolivar International Airport, Venezuela's largest airport, which was damaged by the earthquake, has reopened, allowing for full-scale support to arrive.

The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) estimated that the direct damage from this earthquake is approximately 6.7 billion dollars, which accounts for 6 percent of Venezuela's total GDP.

The agency added that if damage to public infrastructure and long-term reconstruction costs are included, the total scale of the damage could reach up to three times the amount of the direct losses.

(Video Editing: Jo Mu-hwan)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.