In Pictures: Hunger, despair as Venezuela quake death toll rises

Hundreds of rescuers in Venezuela are fighting the clock to free a man trapped for eight days under a collapsed building, as survivors of last week’s twin earthquakes struggle with mounting hunger and desperation.

International teams on Thursday inched closer to 43-year-old security guard Hernan Gil, buried inside his booth beneath a seven-storey building in Catia La Mar, a coastal area flattened by the June 24 disaster.

“This is truly a miracle,” his wife Gusbimar Gonzalez said, praising the unprecedented effort by rescuers from seven countries working around the clock to reach him.

The race to save Gil comes amid a national tragedy that has killed at least 2,295 people and injured more than 11,000, according to National Assembly President Jorge Rodriguez. Tens of thousands remain missing, with the United Nations estimating some 50,000 people are unaccounted for and nearly 13,000 have been left homeless.

In the hardest-hit city of La Guaira, many residents now queue for hours for food and water.

“They give out supplies here, but sometimes people nearly kill each other for food … It’s like a cockfight,” said 18-year-old vendor Daniela Armas at an emergency shelter.

Aid workers warn of rising tensions and crime. Four police officers were arrested after residents accused them of stealing valuables from the rubble, while some families sleep in parking lots after their homes collapsed.

The World Food Programme has appealed for $50m to feed 500,000 people for three months, as health officials warn of looming disease outbreaks in a country whose battered services are now under “extreme pressure”.