Survivors tell of ‘brutal and fast’ Venezuela quake as hunt for survivors goes on

Worst incident of its kind in country for more than 125 years leaves many searching for multiple family members – and pleading for international help

• Scenes of destruction after deadly earthquakes in Venezuela – visual guide

Nearly all of Ligia Level’s family lived in a trio of apartment blocks along Hotel Avenue, a seafront sweep of palm-specked resorts and high-rise condos along Venezuela’s Caribbean coast.

When a powerful “doublet” of earthquakes jolted the region on Wednesday afternoon, those buildings and the lives within them came crashing down.