At least 920 people have died and 3,360 have been injured in the earthquake, Venezuelan authorities say, several news agencies report.
On a site where relatives can search for loved ones, over 50,000 people have been reported missing.
A Chilean rescue team, first on site in one of the worst-hit areas of La Guaira, said on Friday evening that the chance of finding survivors is small and that rescue efforts are now focusing on recovering the dead, AFP reports.
Countries send aid
The lack of disaster response and search efforts has led Venezuelans to search for relatives "with their bare hands," several media outlets write.
Spanish and Swiss rescue workers arrived in Venezuela on Friday, the BBC reports. Personnel from Italy, France, Germany and Portugal are reportedly on their way. The United States has previously announced that it is sending rescue workers and aid.
The UN will coordinate international rescue workers on the ground, UN humanitarian chief Tom Fletcher said on Thursday.
“Have lost everything”
Dayana Delgado, searching for her eight-year-old son, wonders where the heavy machinery promised by the government has gone. So far, only her neighbors are desperately digging through the rubble.
"I want to know where my child is," she pleads, according to the AP.
Another mother in Caracas collapses as her children's bodies are wrapped in blankets and carried away. Others scream the names of missing relatives, while some stand speechless in silent shock.
Many are forced to sleep outdoors. Cristian Carreño no longer has a home.
"I've lost everything. There are people in there who never came out. It's devastating," he told the AP in front of a destroyed apartment building in La Guaira.
Historically strong earthquakes
The first earthquake measured 7.2, according to the US Geological Survey. The second, 7.5. The tremors, the most powerful to hit Venezuela in more than a century, occurred within a minute near the coastal town of Morón.
Images and videos show enormous devastation in the coastal region of La Guaira and the capital Caracas, with high-rise buildings reduced to piles of concrete and bent rebar.
There are no reports of injured Swedes, according to the Swedish Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
