Three members of Venezuela’s Jewish community have been confirmed among the dead after the country was rocked by two high-magnitude earthquakes last week.
Roberto Mishkin, president of the Union Israelita de Caracas, the country’s largest Ashkenazi Jewish congregation, told the Times of Israel that four of the roughly 5,000-strong community are also known to be missing.
And at least 15 Jewish families’ homes have been completely destroyed, while around 35 more Jewish homes have sustained sufficient damage as to render them uninhabitable.
Mishkin estimated that around 100 people are still sleeping at the Jewish Community Center in the capital, Caracas, down from 300 there and 200 at his synagogue on the first night following the tremors.
Shachar Zahavi, CEO and founder of SmartAid, an Israeli humanitarian organisation providing assistance to Venezuelan authorities, told the Times of Israel: “Our main mandate is to help as human beings.
"The real crisis is that there’s no electricity, internet or clean water.
"Our team will fly into Venezuela with the equipment and install it in hospitals, clinics, and various first responder sites, in coordination with local government and local grassroots charities."
Almost 1,500 people in total have been declared dead following the earthquakes. Several hundred remain trapped under rubble according to official government figures, but a website set up by opposition parties for people to register their missing relatives suggests as many as 50,000 could be unaccounted for.
Acting President Delcy Rodríguez said: “We are going to rescue the people who are trapped. We are working tirelessly on this task.”
The government has also lifted restrictions previously imposed on social media platforms in the country in an attempt to aid search efforts.
The state of La Guaira, north of Caracas, has been declared a disaster zone and is set to be militarised amid disorder and looting in the wake of significant destruction, according to Reuters.
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