BBC reporter Vanessa Silva visited the state of La Guaira in Venezuela, one of the areas worst affected by the twin earthquakes that rocked the country on Wednesday.
Natacha Díaz, a mother almost voiceless, told the BBC that her two daughters, aged 22 and 23, are trapped in a small shopping centre where they worked as manicurists. She cried as she showed a photo of them on her mobile phone.
“I just want them back with me. They are all I have”, Natacha said.
There are fears many people still trapped under the rubble, and it is likely that the death toll will climb further as rescue efforts continue.
International rescue teams, bringing along sniffer dogs, have joined the search for survivors.
