Venezuela earthquakes kill at least 32, with 700 injured, as buildings destroyed across Caracas

Back-to-back earthquakes have killed at least 32 people in Venezuela, with at least 700 injured, acting President Delcy Rodríguez says.

The US Geological Survey earlier calculated a 44% chance of more than 10,000 fatalities, and a 30% chance of more than 100,000.

Rescuers in the capital are searching through the rubble for survivors and people have been heard calling for help.

Buildings are without power and the metro system is completely closed, reports the BBC's Vanessa Silva from Caracas.

The quakes, which had magnitudes of 7.2 and 7.5, hit an area west of the capital, and could be felt as far away as Bogota, Colombia.

Venezuela was celebrating a national holiday, and many people were at home when the quakes struck at 18:04 local time (23:04 BST).

My sister in Caracas sent me an audio message, writes one BBC journalist. "The house just shook horribly. It's still shaking"

Venezuela's interim president Delcy Rodríguez has thanked US President Donald Trump in a social media post, saying he has been in constant contact with the Venezuelan authorities.

In a statement shared on Facebook she says that the US government have offered support and solidarity to Venezuela.

It is one of a series of messages Rodríguez has shared thanking other leaders for their support. She has also thanked Indian PM Narendra Modi and Chile's President José Antonio Kast among others.

Trump said in a post on Truth Social earlier that the US "stands ready, willing, and able to help", adding that he had "instructed all agencies of our government to get ready to move quickly".

Three people have been killed after two buildings collapsed in Baruta, a municipality in Caracas, according to its mayor Darwin González.

In a post on X, González wrote that the other residents had been rescued and the injured were being treated.

As a reminder, authorities have not given a rough estimate of the death toll, though there are fears that the number could be very high.

The USGS earlier calculated a 44% chance of more than 10,000 fatalities, and a 30% chance of more than 100,000 after the second main quake.