CARACAS - The death toll from twin earthquakes in Venezuela rose to 920, with tens of thousands reported missing as international rescue teams boosted a desperate and slow-moving search for survivors.
Caracas residents jeered interim leader Delcy Rodriguez during her visit to a devastated neighbourhood, as fury over the perceived lack of an official response mounted.
United Nations aid chief Tom Fletcher told AFP that more than 50,000 people were missing after two powerful earthquakes struck within a minute of each other on Wednesday evening, flattening buildings in the north of the country.
The coastal area of La Guaira, near the capital Caracas, was the worst hit, with one building after another crumpled by the magnitude 7.2 and 7.5 quakes.
Access to the disaster zone was restricted from 8:00 pm on Friday (0000 GMT Saturday), Interior Minister Diosdado Cabello announced in a televised address.
A rescue team from Chile arrived at one residential complex in La Guaira made up of four tall buildings housing hundreds of apartments that had largely been reduced to rubble.
"Unfortunately, the collapse is total, and there is little chance of finding survivors. Efforts are now focused on recovering the bodies of the deceased," team leader Nadiomar Polanco said at the site, which resembles many others in the city.
AFP saw workers using sledgehammers to break through detritus, calling for "absolute silence" to detect cries from survivors.
"It's a very, very complex emergency response," the UN's Fletcher told AFP, warning the death toll could rise significantly.
Aftershocks and destroyed buildings still posed significant dangers.
Venezuela's worst earthquake in more than a century has come after the oil-rich country endured more than a decade of economic collapse.
The crisis has hollowed out hospitals and public services, driving millions to leave the country.
The country is still in a fragile transition six months after the United States ousted leader Nicolas Maduro.
- AFP