The search for survivors intensified Friday in Venezuela, where international aid began to arrive, almost two days after a devastating double earthquake that killed at least 235 people according to the latest official count.

A first US military detachment, headed by a Marine general, arrived in Caracas on Friday to "coordinate" the US aid promised to the victims, the US military announced.

AFP's live video footage shows rescuers busy at around 09:00 GMT, 05:00 in Caracas, sometimes in the most destitute conditions, with bare hands and simple shovels and plastic buckets, in the rubble of a collapsed building.

"Unfortunately, we have received approximately 235 patients who arrived without vital signs or who died upon arrival at our health facilities," Health Minister Carlos Alvarado told state television Thursday night.

The President of the National Assembly, Jorge Rodríguez, reported that 157 people were missing and "more than 200 people identified as trapped in the rubble," in a post on his Facebook account.

Two Spaniards, nine Portuguese, two Brazilians, one Italian-Venezuelan, and two Chinese are among the dead. A Spanish minister also reported 90 compatriots "missing".

The earthquake also injured at least 4,300 people across the country, according to the minister.

- "Absolute silence!"

Flattened buildings, mountains of rubble where distressed families try to find buried loved ones: at the epicenter of the earthquake, AFP teams witnessed impressive scenes of destruction.

The hardest-hit area is La Guaira, north of the capital Caracas, where the damaged and closed Maiquetia International Airport and the coastal town of Catia la Mar, where several buildings have collapsed, are located.

"It was terrifying," says Lisbeth Vazquez, 37, who miraculously escaped from her building by the skin of her teeth. "Neighbors on the lower floors are buried, we're trying to get them out."

"We need people to come and help. There is a little girl here who has been trapped since last night, we can get her out, we need an excavator!", cries a desperate Dani Rizo, another resident of the same building, aged 48.

Aerial images of La Guaira circulating on social media show a succession of pool residences collapsed like houses of cards.

On the ground, in the glow of spotlights piercing the black night, men perched on a pile of ruins are trying to open up the rubble of a defunct building with jackhammers.

Suddenly, a worker shouts "absolute silence." The rescuers freeze instantly so they can hear the voices of any possible buried survivors. "A flashlight, a flashlight," shouts another, trying to illuminate the darkness of a tunnel leading into the rubble.

Other rescuers are resting a few steps away, leaning against a wall. Exhausted, they haven't even removed their yellow construction helmets or the surgical masks covering the lower part of their faces that protect them from the dust.

- "Moles" and Marines -

Numerous countries, particularly in Latin America, have announced aid. A first plane from El Salvador has arrived on the scene, according to the country's president, Nayib Bukele. "Our staff on the ground inform us (...) that there is a significant shortage of equipment," he emphasized on X.

Venezuelan television also reported the arrival in Maracay (50 km west of Caracas) of 80 Swiss rescuers and a group of 80 Mexican rescuers, known by the nickname "The Moles", specializing in the search for earthquake victims.

The United States has promised a "significant," "swift, and effective" response, as stated by Secretary of State Marco Rubio. This includes sending rescue teams and releasing $150 million in aid. The U.S. military has announced it will deploy warships, aircraft, and helicopters to support the relief efforts.

From Caracas, Marine Corps General Kevin Jarrard will be in charge of "overseeing" this American military aid, the U.S. military command for Latin America and the Caribbean (Southcom) announced on X.

This American initiative, a strong diplomatic act after years of tension, is part of the restoration of relations between the two countries since US forces captured ousted President Nicolas Maduro in January, who is now imprisoned in the United States.

Turkey, a country familiar with earthquakes, announced the departure Friday morning from Istanbul of two military planes carrying 67 rescuers with their rescue dogs and vehicles.

Interim President Delcy Rodriguez declared a state of emergency shortly after the double earthquake of magnitude 7.2 and 7.5, which occurred Wednesday at 6:04 p.m. (10:04 p.m. GMT).

According to data from the United States Geological Survey (USGS), the 7.5 magnitude earthquake is the strongest since 1900 to have struck Venezuela, an oil-producing country of nearly 30 million inhabitants whose economy has been in crisis for years.