Two powerful earthquakes shook the Venezuelan capital of Caracas seconds apart on Wednesday evening, killing at least 32 people and injuring around 700, the country’s interim president has said.
The second quake was one of the strongest tremors to hit the South American country in a century, at a magnitude of 7.5.
Buildings collapsed and residents rushed to the streets for safety as the quakes struck.
Venezeula’s Interim President Delcy Rodríguez declared a state of emergency and said airport, rail and transport services had been paused.
Rescuers are racing to find survivors who may be trapped beneath rubble, with fears the death toll could rise.
Where and when did the quakes hit?
Both earthquakes shook Venezuela’s capital city of Caracas – home to around 5 million people – around 18:04 local time (22:04 GMT) on Wednesday.
The first was magnitude 7.2 and struck the state of Yaracuy, west of Caracas, at a depth of 22km, according to the US Geological Survey (USGS) monitoring agency.
Thirty-nine seconds later, a stronger magnitude 7.5 earthquake struck nearby at a depth of about 10km.
The epicentres were both outside the capital, but were felt strongly across the city, with buildings shaking and some collapsing.
Tremors were felt as far away as the Colombian capital Bogotá, more than 1,000km (630 miles) away.
More than 20 aftershocks have since been felt across Venezuela, largely affecting the country’s northern coastline, including La Guaira, Aragua, Carabobo and Falcón.