Nearly 50,000 people remain unaccounted for in Venezuela following powerful earthquakes that struck the nation last week, as the confirmed death toll continues to rise, officials stated Wednesday.

At least 2,295 individuals have died and another 11,267 were injured as a result of the pair of earthquakes that hit on June 24. The seismic events caused widespread building collapses and forced residents to flee into the streets.

Venezuelan lawmaker Jorge Rodriguez reported that 26,403 people have been directly impacted by the disaster, a figure encompassing those who lost their homes or experienced severe damage to their properties. One week after the initial quakes, rescue and recovery operations are still underway.

The International Rescue Committee (IRC) has highlighted that children are among the nearly 50,000 individuals still missing. Search teams are diligently combing through the extensive rubble, often with bare hands, in a desperate bid to locate survivors.

The IRC also noted that Venezuela's water infrastructure has been compromised in several areas, leaving many survivors without consistent access to safe drinking water, a critical concern in the immediate aftermath of the disaster.

Images from the affected regions show widespread devastation, with buildings reduced to rubble and collapsed structures littering the landscape. Rescue workers, including international teams, are visible in aerial views and photographs, engaged in the arduous task of searching through debris.

The scale of the human toll and the ongoing search efforts underscore the severity of the earthquakes. The number of unaccounted for individuals suggests that the final death toll could be significantly higher, as recovery operations continue in the heavily damaged areas.

Questions remain about the long-term recovery efforts, the provision of essential services like clean water and shelter to the displaced population, and the challenges faced by rescue teams in accessing all affected zones. The full extent of the damage and the humanitarian crisis is still unfolding.