Three members of Venezuela’s Jewish community have been confirmed dead as a result of earthquakes that have devastated the country, a communal leader told The Times of Israel on Sunday.

Of the approximately 5,000 Jews living in the country, three are now reported dead, and another four are still missing, said Roberto Mishkin, president of the Union Israelita de Caracas, the country’s largest Ashkenazi Jewish congregation. The third death was confirmed earlier Sunday.

At least 15 Jewish families have seen their homes completely destroyed, along with another 30-35 families whose apartments have been rendered unlivable, Mishkin said.

According to Mishkin, 300 people sheltered at the community’s Jewish Community Center (JCC) and another 200 at his synagogue the first night after the earthquakes,. Now, about 100 people are still sleeping at the JCC.

Jewish communal service organizations, centrally organized for decades in the tight-knit community, are providing three meals a day for many residents, and residents are working around the clock to help, Mishkin said.

Close to 1,500 people have been confirmed dead in the country. Although the government has given a figure of hundreds missing or trapped, just under 50,000 people were listed as unaccounted for on a website promoted by the country’s political opposition on Sunday, a slight decline from 55,000 people a day earlier.

‘To help as human beings’

The race to find survivors trapped beneath the rubble continued on Sunday, with signs of life bringing occasional relief.

Among those taking part in the international response to the devastating double earthquake were SmartAID, an Israeli organization that........

© The Times of Israel