Looting Erupts After Shops Torn Open: "It Is a Total Disaster"

[Anchor]

We continue with the latest on the powerful earthquake in Venezuela. As rescue operations proceed, the scale of the damage is snowballing. So far, it has been confirmed that 920 people have died and over 3,300 have been injured. With critical infrastructure destroyed, rescue efforts and the delivery of relief supplies are facing setbacks.

Reporter Min Gyeong-ho has the story.

[Reporter]

La Guaira, in northern Venezuela, has suffered the most severe damage after being struck by a series of powerful earthquakes.

People are seen tearing open the doors of shops next to buildings collapsed by the quake and carrying out whatever they can find.

The city center has been reduced to ruins, and with relief efforts delayed, people are resorting to looting shops to secure daily necessities.

[Isabel Barquilla / Venezuelan Disaster Victim: We are sleeping on the streets and searching for food. We have no homes, no place to live. It is a total disaster.]

The Venezuelan government has decided to sequentially deploy approximately 11,500 security personnel, including military troops, to La Guaira and restrict the entry and exit of civilians.

[Diosdado Cabello / Venezuelan Minister of Interior: Anyone wishing to enter La Guaira must comply with all procedures established by the President. This is a decision made for humanitarian reasons to ensure the rapid rescue of those in critical need.]

Three days after the series of earthquakes struck, the number of casualties has surged as military troops and international rescue teams have been deployed.

The death toll has reached 920, and the number of injured has been recorded at 3,360.

The UN estimates that there are more than 50,000 people missing due to the earthquake.

[Omar Guariato / Venezuelan Disaster Victim: My daughter went out to look for my granddaughter, but the three-story house next door collapsed and buried her. She is trapped in there.]

Across the country, 1,423 buildings have collapsed or been damaged, and the number of displaced people has reached 4,000. The UN expects that up to 6.76 million people could be directly or indirectly affected by the aftermath of the earthquake, including building collapses and infrastructure damage.

Dissatisfaction with the Venezuelan government is growing.

[Nazareth Jimenez / Family Member of a Missing Person: They haven't cleared anything. Where is the aid? Look, there is still smoke rising, but you don't see firefighters putting out the fire. You don't see anything.]

Observers suggest that if the government fails to properly manage the aftermath of this earthquake, the interim government of Rodriguez, which receives support from the United States, could face a political crisis.

(Video Editing: Ahn Yeo-jin)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.