Three days after the devastating earthquakes in Venezuela, the death toll has climbed to at least 920, with more than 3,300 injured and tens of thousands still missing.
Rescue operations have continued since the 7.2 and 7.5 magnitude earthquakes struck the northern shore of the country on Wednesday, and authorities said 243 people have been saved so far.
American search and rescue teams from Virginia, California and Florida were dispatched to Venezuela on Friday, joining the effort to pull people out of collapsed buildings.
Anthony Marrone, the Los Angeles County fire chief, told The New York Times that local fire units from Los Angeles County and Fairfax County, Virginia, are the only departments in the United States trained to work abroad.
The Los Angeles County team is 73 strong and brought with it concrete-busting machines, listening devices to hear people trapped under rubble and other equipment to aid in the ongoing humanitarian effort.
On Friday night, Venezuelan authorities said they would begin blocking access to La Guaira — where the worst destruction occurred — so search teams can operate without getting hampered by citizens.
According to the AP, officials said anyone who wants to enter now will have to get permits, though they did not explain who would be eligible for them.
This move from the state comes after locals have been taking the search for their missing loved ones into their own hands.
Nazareth Jimenez, who lives in the state of La Guaira, just north of Caracas, said she had to watch as her neighbors used hammers and power tools to try to cut through the concrete of an apartment building.
She stood by and waited to see if her siblings, nephews, nieces and friends would emerge alive.
"We're making a call for help to the government and countries across the world," Jimenez told the AP. "There are still people alive in there."
The Venezuelan government, led by acting President Delcy Rodríguez, has distributed food and water to survivors in La Guaira, but residents still say it has not been enough.
The earthquakes pose a great challenge to Rodriguez, the former vice president whose governing coalition took shape after the United States mounted an operation that captured and deposed President Nicolás Maduro.
Rodriguez's leadership and the legitimacy of her government will be tested during this crisis given she was not elected to the presidency and has not given any timetable on when elections will be held.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.