Venezuela earthquake survivors describe devastation: ‘Everything collapsed’

Survivors of catastrophic earthquakes in Venezuela – including a journalist who was in the elevator in Caracas when the first quake struck – have recounted scenes of devastation as “everything collapsed”.

The man in the elevator, journalist Tony Frangi, told CBS Morning that the quake was “absolutely terrifying.” He was on his way to watch a World Cup match with friends on Wednesday and was just leaving the building when the shaking started.

“I started praying and pressing every button, waiting for it to open,” Franji said. The elevator allowed him to exit into the basement of the building. When he came out, he saw that the structure was shaking. He said the building remained standing, and he spent the next few hours waiting for neighbors and his family to come downstairs.

At first, he didn’t realize how big it was. But when he went online, he learned that two earthquakes, one with a magnitude of 7.2 and the other with a magnitude of 7.5, had struck western Caracas. These earthquakes were the strongest to hit Venezuela in more than a century, and were so strong that tremors could be felt in parts of Colombia and Brazil. They also raised tsunami alerts.

Rescuers search for victims in a collapsed building following an earthquake in Caracas, Venezuela, on June 24, 2026. Manaure Quintero /AFP via Getty Images

Delcy Rodriguez, Acting President of Venezuela, said that the state of La Guaira, located on the northern coast of the country, was the most affected. Rodriguez declared a state of emergency.

Officials said on Thursday that at least 235 people were killed and about 4,300 others were injured.

La Guaira resident Antonio Bermudez told AFP news agency that the shaking started “suddenly.” He added that he was in his living room, but escaped from the building before it collapsed.

“I started moving, and looked for shelter under a pillar. I was between my room and the bathroom. It was shaking harder and harder,” Mr. Bermudez said. “I stuck to the wall and the building started collapsing.”

Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the United States was deploying research teams, medical resources and humanitarian aid to Venezuela. He told reporters on Thursday morning that he had spoken to Rodriguez and offered full assistance from the United States. He said the United States has already deployed search and rescue teams from Fairfax County, Virginia, and Los Angeles.

Rubio said Qatar and El Salvador have also offered to help. He said that while “earthquakes are not part of the stabilization process” between the United States and Venezuela, the Trump administration “will focus only on the humanitarian aspect of this matter.”

“There are human beings who have been harmed, who have been harmed, some who have been killed, some who have been seriously injured, some who are still trapped under the rubble. We will focus on that,” Rubio said. “How this fits into the broader stabilization process, I don’t think we’re analyzing it through that lens. It’s clearly a setback in that regard, but we will get through it, and I think Venezuela will come out of it stronger, despite the tragedy it’s facing now,” he added.

“We expect it to get worse.”

Emil Okal, a professor emeritus at Northwestern University, told CBS News that the two quakes occurred within a minute. Okal explained that this meant that many people did not have enough time to evacuate the buildings they were in between the first and second rounds of shaking.

CBS News meteorologist Rob Marciano said the quakes were shallow, only about six miles deep, resulting in “more violent shaking at the surface.”

In the Catia La Mar neighborhood, which includes about 200 residential towers, “everything collapsed, everything,” resident Yelsmares Blanco told AFP.

People search a collapsed building following an earthquake in Catia la Mar, in Venezuela’s La Guaira state, on June 25, 2026. Federico Parra /AFP via Getty Images

Blanco (39 years old) said, “We thank God that we are alive, but there are people who are suffering now with their relatives buried and their relatives crushed and they cannot get them out.”

Larry Rojas, 49, said his family was trapped in a collapsed building.

“We don’t have anything, now we don’t have anything, not even the strength or courage to go there,” Rojas told AFP. “Just imagine.”

The photos show buildings with large cracks and crumbling walls. Other structures were completely reduced to rubble. Most of the area has no electricity. Rojas said people do not have access to water, causing them to “die of thirst.”

“Actually, we need someone to help us and send machines. This is what we need to reach the collapsed buildings,” Rojas told AFP. He said that residents of the area are afraid to enter any buildings, even those that remain standing, “because we fear that they will collapse as well.”

A man holds a mattress in front of damaged buildings following an earthquake in Catia la Mar on June 25, 2026. Federico Parra/AFP via Getty Images

Jose Pacheco, head of operations for Venezuela’s United Rescue Group, told AFP that he had never seen anything like the effects of these earthquakes in his 30 years of experience. Laguaira needs “help, above all technical assistance,” he said, calling on specialized teams from Caracas to travel to the region.

Franji told “CBS Mornings” he saw “hundreds of posts and stories and a lot of messages from people” looking for help and looking for loved ones. He added that he was supposed to graduate from his MBA program on Friday, but that has “definitely been put on hold.” Instead, he waits to see how to help survivors.

He added that he feared the death toll would rise.

“We saw videos of buildings collapsing and an endless number of people searching for their families,” Franji said. “So, yeah, we expect it to get worse.”

AFP contributed to this report.

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