The US deported them to Venezuela - hours later earthquakes struck - Published Venezuela native Abelardo Rincón built a life for six years in the US state of Georgia - working in a car dealership, marrying and looking forward to the upcoming birth of his daughter - before US authorities detained him amid President Donald Trump's immigration crackdown. The 23-year-old's bereft parents and pregnant wife waited for any and all news while he was held by American authorities, before he was put on a deportation flight to his homeland last month alongside more than 140 other Venezuelans. He landed on 24 June and while still in custody, called his family back in Atlanta.

He and other deportees were being housed in a hotel near the coast. Just hours later, twin earthquakes hit the country - killing at least 2,200 people, injuring more than 10,000 and, according to UN figures, leaving 50,000 missing. Rincón, along with a number of fellow deportees from Flight 164, was among those missing.

And their devastated families were left to desperately search for any word about their loved ones - all after struggling to process the quick succession of arrest, detention, deportation, repatriation and, then, natural disaster. The Department of Homeland Security, which oversees US immigration enforcement agencies like Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), shared a statement, but offered no details on the case when asked by the BBC. "This flight safely reached Venezuela and all illegal aliens on board were returned home," a DHS spokesperson told BBC on Tuesday.

"When an individual is no longer in ICE custody, ICE is no longer responsible for them." It's unclear if the migrants were deported for crossing the border illegally, or for other reasons. The Venezuelan government, meanwhile, has posted numbers for the general public to call, but information has been limited in the wake of such a devastating national disaster. The flight passengers, who reportedly included 19 women and seven children, were being housed by Venezuelan authorities in Hotel Santuario La Llanada in the city of La Guaira after undergoing medical exams and getting documentation.

The area has been particularly hard hit with widespread damage and collapsed buildings. Many, like Rincón, had contacted family to let them know they were back in Venezuela - right before the earthquakes hit. Rincón's grandfather, Jose Rincón, told BBC Mundo that he viewed at least 200 bodies, including at a morgue in Caracas, searching for his 23-year-old grandson.

He even tried unsuccessfully to visit the remnants of the destroyed hotel, where his grandson and the other deportees were staying. Access was blocked by Venezuelan authorities, who told the grandfather there was "no life" at the site. "If we could just see what we need to see - if I could see the rubble, I'd be satisfied - but days have gone by and I still haven't found him, alive or dead...

So what am I supposed to do?" Rincón told the BBC. Darwin Eliecer Serrano Lopez, 35, called a cousin at 05:32 local time to say he'd returned home after four years of living in the US. The first quake struck not even half an hour later.