AROUND 50,000 REPORTED MISSING – At least 235 people are dead and around 50,000 people missing in Venezuela quake

At least 235 people are dead and around 50,000 people have been reported missing after two strong earthquakes devastated Venezuela. 

Authorities have warned the death toll is likely to rise.  

 Rescuers worked through the early hours of Friday (June 26) morning to save hundreds of Venezuelans trapped in rubble and find thousands more missing after two of the biggest earthquakes in Latin America’s modern history smashed areas in and around the capital Caracas.

The government said 235 dead had been taken to medical centres but did not give a total casualty estimate from the magnitude 7.2 and 7.5 tremors that struck about 160 km (100 miles) west of Caracas on Wednesday.

A website created to track missing people and shared by opposition leaders from the politically polarized nation listed more than 49,600 people as unaccounted for, while the U.S. Geological Survey predicted more than 10,000 deaths.