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Death toll from Venezuela earthquakes rises to more than 1,900

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The death toll from the double earthquake that struck Venezuela has risen to more than 1,900, with more than 10,000 people injured and thousands still unaccounted for, according to officials and tracking groups.

Venezuelan officials said Tuesday that 1,943 people have been confirmed dead, while the number of injured has risen to 10,571. At least 15,866 people have been left displaced or otherwise affected.

A crowdsourced tracking site, Desaparecidos Terremoto Venezuela, listed 40,923 people as still unaccounted for, down from 43,865 on Monday. The figure has not been confirmed by officials.

The earthquakes struck west of Caracas near Montalbán, shaking the capital and causing buildings to collapse in several areas. La Guaira state, north of Caracas, was among the hardest-hit areas.

The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) said the event was a doublet, with a magnitude 7.2 earthquake followed 39 seconds later by a magnitude 7.5 earthquake.

A preliminary satellite assessment by NASA estimated that 58,870 buildings were damaged or destroyed.

Urban Search and Rescue (USAR) teams from several countries remain deployed across affected areas, searching collapsed buildings and other debris as authorities continue recovery work.

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