The children of an RT correspondent and cameraman were injured in the deadly earthquake in Caracas, but their lives are not in danger, Editor-in-Chief Margarita Simonyan has said in a post on X.

Simonyan also shared footage showing damage caused by the quake, saying the family’s home was left partly destroyed. The home of an RT contributor was also badly damaged, she added, and staffers and their families are being relocated to a hotel.

“During the earthquake in Caracas, the children of an RT correspondent and cameraman were affected,” Simonyan wrote. “Their home is in a semi-destroyed condition, but thank God, their health is not in danger.”

RT correspondent Jessica Sosa, who was personally affected by the quake, reported from Caracas that part of a ceiling had fallen on the head of her youngest child. She said the injuries were not serious.

Sosa also reported a sharp rise in the number of people searching for missing relatives after the disaster.

Two powerful earthquakes struck Venezuela’s northern Caribbean coast on Wednesday, causing widespread destruction in Caracas and several other regions. The first tremor had a magnitude of 7.2 and was followed less than a minute later by a stronger 7.5 quake, triggering building collapses, infrastructure damage, and a large-scale emergency response. 

The death toll has risen to at least 188, with 1,520 people injured, Venezuela’s top lawmaker, Jorge Rodriguez, said according to media reports. Around 200 people remain trapped under the rubble, he added. 

Rescue teams are searching for survivors as aftershocks continue to shake the region. According to the US Geological Survey, the epicenter was located off Venezuela’s northern coast near the city of Morón.

The earthquakes were felt across much of Venezuela, as well as in neighboring Colombia and several Caribbean islands. More than 20 aftershocks have been recorded, prompting the authorities to urge residents to remain vigilant.

The Venezuelan government has declared a nationwide state of emergency and deployed the armed forces, civil defense units, and emergency services. Schools, public transport, and some airports have been temporarily closed, while power, water, and communications have been disrupted in several areas.

Simon Bolivar International Airport remains closed due to damage, while metro and rail services in Caracas have been suspended.

An earthquake in 1967 was the deadliest in Venezuela’s recent history, killing around 300 people and injuring some 1,600 in Caracas. Another quake in the country’s northeast in 1997 killed at least 81 people.