Venezuela declares seven days of national mourning as quake death toll rises to 2,295 The death toll from Venezuela's twin earthquakes rose to 2,295 an official said on Wednesday as interim president Delcy Rodriguez declared seven days of mourning for the victims. One week on from the natural disaster, tens of thousands of people remain unaccounted for. Hope of finding more survivors faded Wednesday as Venezuela marked a week since twin earthquakes killed almost 2,300 people, while many who lived through the disaster were running desperately short on food.

As the death toll mounted, Venezuela's interim president Delcy Rodriguez declared seven days of mourning, saying the country's "soul is torn apart by the human losses." Tens of thousands of people remain unaccounted for. The majority of collapsed buildings in the hardest-hit city of La Guaira, just north of Caracas, have been marked with the letter 'D' for 'deceased' – a sign they had been searched and showed no signs of life. "Time isn't wasted in a place where there is no expectation of recovering people alive," said Javier Rodes, the coordinator of a Spanish rescue team whose sniffer dog Nala searched in vain through the rubble for traces of life.

There have been miracle survivors, such as a three-year-old boy found alive Tuesday, six days after Venezuela's most powerful quake in over a century. But experts say trapped victims are unlikely to survive more than 72 hours after an earthquake. Venezuela's National Assembly President Jorge Rodriguez said Wednesday that deaths had risen to 2,295, and more than 11,000 people were injured.

Read more‘We’ve lost so many’: Venezuelans search for loved ones under quake rubble He said almost 13,000 people had been left homeless. The United Nations estimates 50,000 people are missing. A fight for food Two powerful quakes, measuring 7.2 and 7.5, shattered entire neighborhoods in oil-rich Venezuela, which has suffered decades of economic crisis that had devastated infrastructure and health services.

The country is in a fragile transition six months after the United States ousted leader Nicolas Maduro. International rescue teams arrived from around the globe to dig out survivors, while locals are furious at the absence of the state in the aftermath of the disaster. With daily life in ruins, the focus is now shifting to survival.

Many are homeless and food and water are becoming hard to find. "They give out supplies here, but sometimes people nearly kill each other for food... It's like a cockfight," Daniela Armas, 18, a vendor in La Guaira, said after waiting to get food at an emergency shelter.

There has been widespread theft and looting and on Wednesday four police officers were arrested after being caught by residents stealing valuables from the rubble, according to the justice ministry. "The situation is quite critical," said Lia Poggio, head of mission in Venezuela for the International Organization for Migration (IOM). Queues for aid are growing longer by the day, with many surviving on the goodwill of volunteers and donations from fellow citizens.

"I feel guilty about eating, because every time I eat I think there's someone who has nothing to eat," said Aysmar Lopez, a young woman bringing home-cooked meals to several shelters.