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The Venezuelan government updated the official death toll from the earthquakes on June 24 this Thursday, raising the number of fatalities to 3,889. However, the report sparked a wave of scrutiny on social media, where many citizens demanded that authorities continue to provide information on how many people are still missing.
The report was shared by Jorge Rodríguez, president of the National Assembly and spokesperson for the government during the emergency, who published the statement on his X account accompanied only by the word: "Attention."
In addition to the deceased, the document reports 16,740 injuries, 6,462 people rescued, 86,794 families assisted, 190 buildings collapsed, and 1,142 aftershocks recorded since the earthquake.
However, the absence of an official balance on the missing persons concentrated much of the users' reactions.
"Those numbers don't add up, and what about the missing? What about those in the rubble?" wrote the user @osa59.
In the same vein, Iván Roa (@JivanRoa) asked, "And what about the disappeared????," while @MarinAmeri69088 accused the government of having "disappeared the disappeared."
So far, Venezuelan authorities have not released an official number of people whose whereabouts remain unknown, despite issuing successive updates since the beginning of the emergency.
Other users also pointed out inconsistencies in the official figures.
"Why isn't the number of rescued people increasing if they are finding more individuals?" questioned @LoydaZea, who also requested information about workers who were supposedly in vacation homes at the time of the disaster.
For its part, @ConiBitx called for greater transparency and mentioned the case of a missing person.
"Disseminate the list of the missing. The number is enormous, like the case of Mrs. Cristina Ramos. There are thousands. This is like trying to cover the sun with a finger," he wrote.
Differences with independent estimates
The new official balance remains well below the estimates made by specialized organizations and centers.
The United States Geological Survey (USGS) projected on June 25, with a 42% probability, that the final number of fatalities could range between 10,000 and 100,000 people, according to its impact models.
On their part, estimates released by international humanitarian organizations place the number of people who may still be missing under the rubble in the tens of thousands, while citizen platforms like "Encuéntralos" report over 71,000 cases of individuals who have not been located.
Since the first report issued on June 24, when authorities reported 32 deaths, the official toll has gradually increased to the 3,889 deaths announced this Thursday.
The greatest seismic tragedy in over a century
The double earthquake of June 24, with magnitudes of 7.2 and 7.5, happening just 39 seconds apart and centered in Morón, Carabobo state, is regarded as the worst seismic disaster recorded in Venezuela since the early 20th century.
La Guaira continues to be the most affected state, with 158 of the 190 officially reported collapsed buildings and around 1.2 million tons of debris.
The UN estimates that 6.76 million people were affected by the disaster and calculates economic losses close to 6.7 billion dollars.
Among the victims are also Cuban citizens. According to the latest available report, eight Cubans had died and at least 20 remained missing, mainly in the areas of Caraballeda, Catia La Mar, and Los Corales, in the state of La Guaira.
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