Venezuelan soldiers deployed to the earthquake-stricken site in La Guaira [AFP=Yonhap News]

The death toll from the powerful earthquake that struck Venezuela on the 24th of last month is approaching 3,000.

According to an AFP report on the 4th (local time) citing an official government announcement, the number of confirmed earthquake fatalities has reached 2,954.

This figure represents an increase of 309 from the 2,645 deaths reported the previous day. The number of injured has surpassed 16,000.

The official death toll released by the government is based on bodies that have been recovered, and there is a high possibility that the number of victims will continue to rise over time.

The Venezuelan government has not released an official count of the missing. The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) previously estimated that the number of people missing following the earthquake could be as high as 50,000.

While international rescue teams and Venezuelan fire and military authorities are continuing rescue operations, the chances of finding survivors are becoming slim as the relief efforts enter their tenth day.

Since the dramatic rescue of Hernan Alberto Gil Flores (43), a night security guard at a shopping center in Catia La Mar, La Guaira, on the 2nd—eight days after the earthquake—there have been no further reports of survivors being found.

As a result, rescue teams appear to be gradually winding down their search efforts. However, foreign media outlets report that grieving families remain at the sites, unwilling to leave as they cling to a sliver of hope for any sound from within the wreckage.