President, PM express deep grief over loss of precious lives in Venezuela

President Asif Ali Zardari and Prime Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif have expressed deep grief and sorrow over the loss of precious lives and widespread devastation caused by the powerful earthquakes that struck Venezuela.

In separate statements, they extended their heartfelt condolences to the bereaved families and conveyed sympathies to the Government and people of Venezuela during this difficult time.

The president and the prime minister said people of Pakistan stand in solidarity with the people of Venezuela and share their grief.

Venezuela’s interim leader declared a state of emergency Wednesday as two massive earthquakes caused buildings in the capital to crumble and forced the closure of the country’s main airport.

Delcy Rodriguez said 20 aftershocks had followed the earthquakes of magnitude 7.2 and 7.5, which struck the same area of Venezuela, according to the United States Geological Survey (USGS).

Read more: Emergency declared after powerful twin quakes rattle Venezuela

The quakes triggered panic in the capital and drove people into the streets, AFP journalists saw.

“The stairs came away, the whole wall cracked. Things fell from the ceiling. It was horrible,” said 54-year-old bank employee Odalis Escalona.

It remained unknown if there were fatalities, but some people were injured and buildings had collapsed, Interior Minister Diosdado Cabello said earlier.

An AFP journalist saw a 22-storey building completely destroyed in the capital’s Altamira neighbourhood, where people cried out relatives’ names as volunteers climbed over the rubble. “We need flashlights,” one of them said.

The first quake, with an epicenter 21 kilometers (13 miles) west of the coastal town of Moron, occurred at 2204 GMT, USGS said. Within a minute, a 7.5-magnitude quake struck about 45 kilometers away.

“This earthquake was the second event in a doublet. This magnitude 7.5 mainshock was preceded by 39 seconds by a 7.2 foreshock,” USGS said.