Pakistan, June 26 -- At least 188 people have died and 971 were injured after a pair of powerful quakes rocked Venezuela, Acting President Delcy Rodriguez said Thursday.

The acting president had said earlier that at least 32 people have died after Wednesday evening's 7.2 and 7.5 magnitude earthquakes, and that the toll was expected to rise.

The quakes were among the strongest to strike Venezuela in more than a century and could be felt throughout the region. Buildings were evacuated in places as far away as Brazil's Amazon, about 1,700 kilometers (1,050 miles) from Venezuela's capital, Caracas.

Footage on state TV showed three children, covered in dust but alive, pulled from the rubble in La Guaira state, which Rodriguez described as a...