Venezuela's interim President Delcy Rodriguez says the number of deaths in Wednesday's earthquakes now stands at 589, with 2,980 injured.

Rodriguez has also instructed the military to take control of La Guaira, one of the worst-hit areas.

Hospitals are said to be overwhelmed. Medics tell the BBC that even before the earthquake, medical supplies were insufficient for the population.

The United Nations says more than 1,000 international search and rescue workers have been deployed, including teams of sniffer dogs.

The UN's humanitarian chief Tom Fletcher told BBC Radio 4's Today programme: "I want people to know in Venezuela that help is coming."

Venezuela is a country already mired in uncertainty - it has been less than six months since Nicolás Maduro, the leader who had ruled the country since 2013, was seized by US forces in a dawn raid - you can read analysis on that here.

We also wrote a timeline earlier on how the disaster and the following rescue efforts unfolded.

(Source: BBC)