Rescue teams race to Venezuela amid fears thousands killed in earthquakes

US among nations sending help to search for survivors on country’s north coast where dozen of buildings flattenedVenezuela earthquake – latest updatesRescue teams are racing to Venezuela’s shattered northern coast after a sucker punch of almost simultaneous earthquakes reduced dozens of buildings to rubble, with thousands feared to have been killed.The US secretary of state, Marco Rubio, said the Department of Defense would help search and rescue teams deploy to the affected region after Venezuela’s main gateway, the Simón Bolívar international airport, was badly damaged by 7.2 and 7.5 magnitude quakes, less than 40 seconds apart, late on Wednesday afternoon.