International aid arrives in Venezuela

A pair of powerful, shallow earthquakes have wreaked havoc in the northern coast of Venezuela and capital city Caracus.

The death toll has risen to 235 people as of Thursday evening, according to the country's health minister. The number of casualties is expected to rise further, with a reported missing figure of around 50,000.

Chinese officials confirm two Chinese nationals have lost their lives in the earthquakes.

As global relief effort gains pace, the International Monetary Fund has pledged to remain closely engaged with Venezuelans as they assess the quakes' economic impact and the recovery needs.

Officials say over 4,300 people have been injured and many more were displaced in Venezuela - a nation mired in political and economic crisis - which suffered twin quakes this week that are among the strongest felt in more than a century.

Health minister Carlos Alvarado tells state media that they have received around 235 patients who arrived with no vital signs or who died on arrival.

Panicked residents in northern Venezuela were out in the streets in search of their loved ones as aftershocks continue to shake the region on Thursday.

Acting President Delcy Rodriguez says authorities are shifting rescue teams to La Guaira state, which has sustained the worst damage.

Aerial images show a string of large multi-storey buildings that have been levelled while others caught fire in the coastal city of Catia La Mar, north of Caracas.

Residents were seen shouting the names of the missing at an apartment complex. A woman pleaded: "Please help me find my daughter and see if she's under the rubble, please."

Meanwhile, pastor Carlos Arizmendi from the Anunciadora de Sion issues a plea for help after his church and home collapsed.

In neighbouring Ecuador, social organisations and aid groups are setting up collection centres in cities of Quito, Guayaquil and Cuenca. Volunteers from the local Venezuelan community assemble and pack donations that will be sent back to their home country.

Leaders of Qatar, Brazil, Portugal and Canada have vowed to send aid.

Expressing solidarity with Venezuela, Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum says a team from Mexico's Ministry of National Defense made up of rescuers and health workers will be on the ground.

Spain has sent out 40 operatives and two search and rescue dogs of its Emergency and Immediate Response unit, while the US Secretary of State Marco Rubio claims that the US would immediately deploy personnel for assistance.

Planes carrying rescue teams from Mexico, El Salvador and the Dominician Republic have begun arriving in La Guaira.

A number of shipments were also reportedly on the way on Thursday.